James Gunn’s Pitch For Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Was Hilariously Simple

James Gunn’s pitch for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was so simple. The filmmaker boarded the MCU via 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which quickly became a hit. Given this, a sequel was a no-brainer, with Marvel Studios giving the director full creative control over his follow-up project.

Like its predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a big success for Marvel Studios, grossing more than $859 million worldwide, and it has received generally positive feedback from the viewing audience with special citations on the film’s visuals and the cast’s superb performance. It’s arguably a more emotional movie than the original blockbuster, with the follow-up tackling the different relationships that characters share. At the center of the storytelling was Star-Lord meeting his biological father, Ego the Living Planet, played by Kurt Russell, which was apparently all of Gunn’s pitch to Marvel Studios for the movie.

While engaging with fans on his official Twitter account, Gunn was asked about his original story pitch for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Comparing it to his experience selling the idea for the first movie, the director recalls that all he told Marvel Studios executives were that Ego was going to be Star-Lord’s dad, which was enough for them to greenlight the sequel. Read his full comment below:

All that being said, Gunn’s relationship with Marvel Studios hasn’t been a walk in the park. While he’s set to helm Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 set to release in 2023, he was briefly fired from his stint at Disney. After some of his unsavory tweets from years ago were unearthed, the House of Mouse decided to fire him haphazardly, causing an uproar from fans and his peers in the industry. This, fortunately, led him to make DCEU’s The Suicide Squad, which will release next year. Eventually, however, Marvel Studios realized that Gunn is the primary creative force behind the Guardians of the Galaxy, and without him, they risk the threequel falling flat. It’s also safe to imagine that looking for a replacement helmer was difficult considering the situation.

It makes sense why the filmmaker didn’t have to oversell his story for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as he did with the original film. He proved himself capable of delivering for the MCU, and he earned that creative freedom. Despite the brief conflict that led to his firing and rehiring, Kevin Feige and his team continue to trust Gunn’s creativity, as proven by the recently-announced Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It’s unknown what lies past the threequel for these beloved heroes, but with Gunn handling them in potentially their final movie, the public is more confident that it will be a good mix of emotional and action-packed sequences as his previous MCU movies.

Source: James Gunn

About The Author