This article contains minor spoilers for “Superman,” in theaters now.

James Gunn has high praise for Bradley Cooper, which is why he needed him for a very important cameo in “Superman.”

In the opening moments of the DC tentpole, Cooper appears as Jor-El, the father of Superman. The role was first brought to the big screen by legendary actor Marlon Brando in the original 1978 “Superman.” During a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gunn said he cast Cooper with Brando’s performance in mind, knowing he could keep with the foremost portrayal of Jor-El.

“I needed somebody who could play Jor-El, who had the stature of what we imagine that character to be,” Gunn explained. “Somebody that could walk in the footsteps of Marlon Brando.”

Gunn previously collaborated with Cooper on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, in which the “Silver Linings Playbook” star played Rocket Raccoon. The director said on an episode of “Jake’s Takes” that the relationship he formed with Cooper during those films made it easy to lock him in for “Superman.”

“He’s a friend,” Gunn said. “We’ve stayed in close contact since the ‘Guardians’ movies, and I admire him greatly as an actor and as a director.” Gunn added that he called Cooper and asked, “Hey, will you do me a favor? Come down, go to England, we’re going to shoot you in a 3D environment, make a hologram of you, and you can play Jor-El.”

David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult lead the cast of Gunn’s “Superman” as the titular Man of Steel and the villainous Lex Luthor, respectively. Other cast members include Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific), Nathan Fillon (Guy Gardner) and Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl).