Slither, the sci-fi/horror directorial debut of James Gunn, featured Jenna Fischer from The Office in a supporting role, and here's why. Nowadays, Gunn is best known for writing and directing the Guardians of the Galaxy movies for Marvel Studios, and of course the big Twitter scandal that led him to get briefly fired from Guardians of the Galaxy 3. As a side effect, Gunn will soon become part of the DCEU too, helming The Suicide Squad, a kinda sorta sequel to David Ayer's divisive 2016 film.
Before he was directing Star-Lord and Groot though, Gunn cut his teeth in the world of horror, first working for Lloyd Kaufman's famous B-movie company Troma, then finding mainstream success as a screenwriter for films like Scooby-Doo and Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. With 2006's Slither, Gunn proved that he was just as capable behind the camera as he was behind a pen, crafting a film that - while it wasn't a box office success - quickly became a cult favorite.
Slither's cast includes quite a few recognizable actors, including Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, and Nathan Fillion. Probably the highest profile at the time of the film's release was Jenna Fischer, as The Office had hit big between the end of production and Slither's arrival in theaters. Here's the odd way that casting came about.
Slither: The Odd Reason James Gunn Cast The Office's Jenna Fischer
In Slither, Jenna Fischer plays the supporting role of Shelby Cunningham, the police dispatcher in the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina. Not too long before production began, Fischer wasn't set to be in Slither at all, despite being married to writer/director James Gunn at the time. However, the actor - the Shelby role was originally meant to be a male character - signed on expressed his desire to exit the project so he could pursue another opportunity. Gunn allowed him to leave, then offered the part to Fischer, gender-swapping the character, then adding a bit to her role in the story.
In a fun twist, Fischer was so famous by the time Slither came out, she was the actor chosen to do late night talk shows in support of the film's release. While on one such show, Fischer said that Gunn gave her the Shelby role as a "birthday present," and that she was very excited, as she'd always wanted to play a zombie. While Slither isn't technically a zombie film, it does see an alien hive mind take over most of Wheelsy's residents, including Shelby, rendering her to a zombie-esque state. Sadly, Gunn and Fischer divorced in 2008, although the two remain close friends, and Fischer actually suggested her Office co-star Rainn Wilson for the lead in Gunn's 2010 film Super.