James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy Proves the DC Universe Is in Good Hands
This week will bring the long-awaited debut of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, rounding out the trilogy brought to life by writer-director James Gunn. The upcoming threequel is, for the time being, the final film that Gunn is expected to make with Marvel Studios — but his take on the realm of superhero storytelling is far from over. As of last year, Gunn and Peter Safran are now the co-CEOs of DC Studios and will be working to lead the revitalized comic book franchise into a new era. We already have an inkling of Gunn and Safran's plans for the studio, as they announced ten movies and Max-exclusive television shows set to arrive in the coming years, including Gunn writing and directing the highly-anticipated Superman: Legacy. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hasn't arrived yet, Gunn's work on the Marvel trilogy makes it clear that the future of the DC Universe is in good hands.
Accessibility
When Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy first hit the multiplex in 2014, it, on paper, shouldn't have worked. At that point, the realm of modern superhero films was still in its infancy, as Marvel Studios had (arguably) accidentally stumbled into success with its first phase of Avengers tie-in films. The Guardians saga was not only completely disconnected from anything the franchise had already set up, but its ragtag group of cosmic characters were obscure to even some comic fans, and had only operated as a team in the comics for a handful of years prior. That only made the success of the Gunn-helmed film — both within the superhero fandom, and in the larger pop-culture consciousness — all the more revolutionary. Vol. 1 was reverential to the Guardians' comic canon, but it wasn't beholden to that canon, as evident by some of the slight changes made to characters like Drax and Star-Lord. It peppered in a few details to set up future MCU stories, but it was still a standalone, singularly-entertaining movie for audiences who didn't care about those future stories yet.
This trend continued in Gunn's subsequent Guardians installments, even as the team's impact on the larger MCU grew. The film's 2017 sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, helped tee up the team entering the larger sandbox of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but still prioritized its own solo storytelling, whether through adding a few new members to the titular group, throwing a few more plot twists into Peter Quill's family history, or launching a mountain of merchandise when reviving Groot as a baby. Even last winter's Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which weaved in some long-awaited elements of MCU canon, still manages to be a festive perennial first and foremost. At this point, there might be some Marvel movie fans who only keep up with what the Guardians are doing, and that corner of the franchise is still relatively accessible to them.
That tactic has already been utilized with Gunn's existing DC work — 2021's The Suicide Squad, and the first season of the Peacemaker HBO Max series. Despite carrying over a few characters from 2016's Suicide Squad, Gunn's film was something that audiences could jump right into and enjoy, even as it included even lesser-known characters from DC's arsenal. The same could be said for Peacemaker, which was in its own lane to the extent that some wondered if it was in an entirely separate canon from other DC projects. Gunn and Safran have already teased that, once the canonical "reset" takes effect in their DCU, that sense of accessibility will continue — individual projects will be able to stand on their own, instead of being forced to cross over for no reason or meet some arbitrary release date.
It's also worth noting the way that Gunn's superhero work, but especially the Guardians films, has handled and added to our popular culture. While we'll have to wait and see what elements of the larger "superhero boom" stand the test of time, Gunn's films and show have had a measurable impact. This is, in part, due to his ability to put a fresh spin on familiar iconography. Look no further than the renewed popularity of Walkmans following Vol. 1's release, and the fact that the team has two Disney theme park rides and multiple video games. There's also the success of the jukebox soundtracks of Gunn's projects — Blue Swede's 1974 version of "Hooked on a Feeling" topped the Billboard charts after Vol. 1's release, and Peacemaker's use of Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It?" sparked a real-life dance craze — two things that would have seemed unheard of a decade ago, but illustrate the genuine ways superhero stories can inspire the medium around them.
Heart
It also helps that, at the end of the day, the Guardians films — as well as Gunn's past and future work at DC — prioritize telling heartfelt stories driven by character and personality. Gunn recently made headlines for addressing the threat of "superhero fatigue", and arguing that in reality, audiences are feeling fatigued towards films that focus on empty spectacle more than character. It's easy to see why he has that outlook, as when you strip away the MCU elements from the first two Guardians films, you are still left with a crop of lovable characters and a story of found family, generational trauma, and personal growth. The fact that Vol. 1 left audiences crying over the dynamic between a talking tree and raccoon, and didn't make them feel embarrassed for doing so, still feels like somewhat of a miracle.
Those aforementioned themes carried over, albeit with a different flavor, into both Squad and Peacemaker, which turned the misunderstood plight of a giant starfish or the insecurities of a C-list patriotic superhero into genuine beats of emotion. Still, all four projects have undeniable moments of levity, striking the balance of earnestness and campiness that has been tied to the majority of superhero comics for years. Going into Vol. 3, it's clear that Gunn's balance of tone has resonated with audiences, as the question of which characters will meet their emotional end has dwarfed any speculation about the plot or MCU connections.
While some have scoffed at the prospect of Gunn's sense of humor being used on A-list characters like Superman and Lois Lane, especially after the R-rated fare of Squad and Peacemaker, the Guardians films have already shown the balance that he and Safran's new universe can strike. And ultimately, as long as the DCU projects keep their emotional core front and center, it's safe to assume that they will resonate with audiences similarly to how the Guardians characters have. Legacy, which draws inspiration from Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's All-Star Superman storyline, is already expected to have a more personal conflict than just Superman physically fighting a villain. Every other project currently on the DCU slate, whether it be the grizzled space adventure of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, or Booster Gold's fight against "superhero imposter syndrome", is primed to also keep the stakes character-driven.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be, in more ways than one, the end of an era for blockbuster superhero storytelling. As we wait to see which characters survive the film's emotional roller coaster, we also wait to see exactly what note Gunn leaves his MCU tenure on, before he fully focuses on shepherding in a new era for DC Studios. Sure, we're at least a year away from seeing the first DCU project on our screens, and we're two years away from Gunn's Superman: Legacy, but based on the track record of the Guardians films, the future will hopefully be bright. Gunn's work on the Guardians saga turned a small corner of the Marvel Comics franchise into a cultural phenomenon, all while injecting a sense of accessibility and earnestness that audiences didn't know they needed — and that just might be what the DC Universe needs, too.
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