James Gunn and Zack Snyder Traded SUPERMAN Barbs on RICK AND MORTY

Episode seven of Rick and Morty season eight, “Ricker than Fiction,” took on soulless A.I., tired blockbuster movie franchises, Hollywood, and toxic fandom in an episode starring James Gunn. And we do mean starring, as the co-CEO of the DCU was a major part of the story from start to finish, as he played the main antagonist.

The episode followed a very angry Rick and Morty confronting Gunn over a disappointing installment of the Maximum Velocitree franchise. After taking the constantly re-written script for the 10th installment, Rick fed it into his “Movie-lizer” machine to create a more satisfying story and ending. Instead the machine “Last Action Hero-ed” the two as they got sucked into the film.

The two spent most of the episode trying to create an ending that would free them from their digital prison. Meanwhile, in the real world, Gunn ran into Snyder at the Warner Bros. commissary. There the two had a very funny, very meta conversation. A creatine-eating Snyder told Gunn, “Just saw your new cut of Superman and word of advice. He’s the Man of Steel, not the Man of Conversation.” Snyder then explained the “secret” of filming punches in regular speed before slowing them down. That led Gunn to blow up at him about how everyone knows that.

Ultimately, though, the animated Snyder was very supportive of the animated Gunn. He even offered Gunn advice on ignoring the whims of the smartest man in the universe (which included a dig at former Warner Bros. stalwart Christopher Nolan) as both wondered if fans actually can do their job.

While that was Snyder’s only appearance, Gunn remained a huge part of the episode, which ended with his own ridiculous death after he stole the “Movie-lizer” for Warner Bros. But this episode wouldn’t have happened without Warner Bros. approval. Rick and Morty‘s executive producer Scott Marder told Variety that when writer Rob Schrab reached out Gunn not only said yes immediately he ran it up the proverbial flagpole to get the okay from Warner Bros., which distributes Ricky and Morty.

The show wasn’t sure Gunn would have time because of Superman. But he came to the recording studio the same day he finished the movie’s principle production. With both Gunn and Snyder on board Dan Harmon took it upon himself to write their funny Superman talk. The two directors then recorded back-to-back, which is also when Gunn took the photo of the two of them together. (Though no one outside of the show knew why they were together at the time.)

Will this episode stop some Snyder fans from having contempt for James Gunn’s DCU? Probably not, but it’s the best—and funniest—proof why they shouldn’t.