James Gunn On If 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Would Have Gotten Made If Marvel Already Had X-Men And Fantastic Four
Thanks to their 2014 film, the Guardians of the Galaxy have become some of the most popular [...]
Thanks to their 2014 film, the Guardians of the Galaxy have become some of the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with their upcoming appearance in Avengers: Infinity War being some of the most-anticipated meetings in the film. With Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets, the X-Men and Fantastic Four can enter the MCU. Director James Gunn recently shared on Twitter that, if Marvel Studios possessed the rights to these characters earlier, a Guardians of the Galaxy film might have never been made.
Gunn has previously voiced his excitement at the X-Men and Fantastic Four entering the MCU, but the specific question posited by a fan theorized how it would have impacted a Guardians film.
"It's a hard question. Kevin Feige was into the idea of Guardians because of his deep love of Star Wars and space operas," Gunn responded. "But the Marvel Studios schedule might have been too glutted with content/movies and it would have never been made."
The fan may have been expecting a simple yes/no answer, but the popularity of the characters owned by Fox would have opened worlds of possibilities for Marvel Studios.
If Marvel had access to these characters prior to Iron Man, the whole shape of the Avengers lineup could have been drastically different. Films like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange may have never existed, while X-Men films may have been attempted and even failed.
Shortly after the announcement of the acquisition, Gunn tweeted, "While there are many aspects to Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets, I am personally incredibly happy about it, for obvious reason."
The cosmic nature of the Guardians of the Galaxy could result in some incredible opportunities for the series. The filmmaker has already expressed his interest in playing with Silver Surfer, previously owned by Fox.
"I was thinking more about, like, you know, the Silver Surfer, but this is a valid point as well," the filmmaker responded in regards to comments made by Knocked Up director Judd Apatow.
Rather than wanting to appear diplomatic, Gunn appears to genuinely be excited about the upcoming changes to the MCU as it means that his sandbox has just gotten a lot more toys.