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Tag: Guardians of the Galaxy

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s James Gunn Believes in Superhero Fatigue

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s James Gunn Believes in Superhero Fatigue

    Superhero fatigue has been all the rage right now. Mostly due to some pointing out that they’ve seemingly reached their limits and reading too much into box office performances of two distinct projects earlier this year. Shazam: Fury of the God couldn’t pull in an audience and opened with a depressing $30M while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania lost steam surprisingly fast after a bombastic opening.

    While there’s more to this given just how superhero films performed last year, James Gunn gave his thoughts on the topic and seemingly believes that there is such a thing. Yet, he points out that it’s not as simple as “superhero movies” but rather spectacle films that lack the heart that really drags us into these stories.

    I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue. I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes. It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character. We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring. But I get fatigued by most spectacle films, by the grind of not having an emotionally grounded story. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether they’re superhero movies or not. If you don’t have a story at the base of it, just watching things bash each other, no matter how clever those bashing moments are, no matter how clever the designs and the VFX are, it just gets fatiguing, and I think that’s very, very real.

    James Gunn

    It’s not completely wrong, as many spectacle films sometimes can overshadow the heart of the story. Ant-Man‘s third film is quite a bit “bigger” than the previous and perhaps just went overboard on what defined the franchise initially. Even Shazam‘s sequel seemingly started going in a bigger direction and there’s no surprise that the first two very family-centric franchises may have struggled a bit earlier this year.

    Of course, the topic of superhero fatigue is also quite a bit important for James Gunn, as he’s the head of the newly formed DC Studios. With him set to also direct the next Superman film that’ll define a future new cinematic universe, he’ll put a lot of weight into ensuring that fatigue doesn’t take away their opportunity to build this franchise.

    Source: Rolling Stones

  • James Gunn Reveals How Taika Waititi Saved His Vision of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’

    James Gunn Reveals How Taika Waititi Saved His Vision of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’

    It’s strange to think that there was a time when we didn’t know if we’ll see James Gunn direct the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. The director was a major part of the studio’s future before a controversy derailed everyone’s plans. Luckily by 2019, Gunn found his way back but was also quite busy directing his DC film, The Suicide Squad.

    So, many of his initial plans have gone through quite a few new directions as Avengers: Endgame was on the horizon and the film ended with Thor joining the Guardians. One thing Gunn knew was that he didn’t want to include the character in his story, but in an interview with the Rolling Stones, he reveals how Taika Waititi saved the vision of his film.

    And I didn’t think it was gonna be in there. Endgame came out right after I decided to do Guardians again. So I didn’t have much say in what was in Endgame, and then it came out and then I was like, ‘What the fuck am I gonna do?’ That’s when [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] told me Taika’s gonna do Thor, and we’ll have the Guardians in it. I said, ‘Thank God!’… To be completely honest, Thor was never going to be in this movie. Taika took a bullet for me. Because I was not going to have him in. I was just gonna start up and there’s no Thor.

    James Gunn

    So, without Thor: Love and Thunder, we might not have the true original vision of Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He had a shot to explore the Guardians a bit (ironic given he was the Internet’s top choice to continue the franchise if Gunn never managed to return) and set them off on their adventure once Thor realized his true mission was to uncover what

    Source: Rolling Stones

  • New Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Episodes to Release in April

    New Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Episodes to Release in April

    Marvel Studios: Legends was first announced in late 2020, ahead of the release of WandaVision on Disney+. The series was meant to act as a recap for first-time viewers and kicked off with episodes highlighting Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Episodes of the series were released all throughout Phase 4, highlighting notable events of the Infinity Saga and moments that defined who our beloved characters were.

    Earlier this year, Season 2 of Legends was announced with the onset of Phase 5, starting with episodes featuring characters from the Ant-Man franchise. The next episodes coming to this series have now been confirmed, bringing the episode count to 9.

    In an official “Next On Disney+ | April 2023” video by Disney+, it was confirmed that episodes 4-9 of Legends will release on April 28, one week before Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters. Although the titles of the episodes haven’t been officially confirmed, the episodes will likely focus on Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax, the founding members of the Guardians.

    Legends

    The Guardians were previously featured in Legends episodes for The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special.

    As of now, the following episodes of Marvel Studios: Legends are available to stream on Disney+:

    • “Wanda Maximoff”
    • “Vision”
    • “Falcon”
    • “The Winter Soldier”
    • “Zemo”
    • “Sharon Carter”
    • “Loki”
    • “The Tesseract”
    • “Black Widow”
    • “Peggy Carter”
    • “The Avengers Initiative”
    • “The Ravagers”
    • “The Ten Rings”
    • “Hawkeye”
    • “Doctor Strange”
    • “Wong”
    • “Scarlet Witch”
    • “Thor”
    • “Jane Foster”
    • “Valkryie”
    • “Bruce Banner”
    • “King T’Challa”
    • “Princess Shuri”
    • “The Dora Milaje”
    • “Mantis”
    • “Drax”

    Source: Disney+

  • All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    All Roads LED Here: Marvel’s Future with Stagecraft May End

    If there ever was a piece of technology that went from being “the future” to having the Internet complain about it ruining experiences, it would be Stagecraft. The technology is quite simple, as it makes use of LED screens and pre-rendered elements to give actors something to act from. The Mandalorian popularized it and it became a useful tool during COVID and put Industrial Light & Magic on the map for many productions.

    Cinematographer Greig Fraser has been a strong proponent against the use of greenscreen (but still uses them heavily for some of his biggest projects under new names like “Sand Screens” in Dune) and was one of the first to push the technology forward. He went on to make good use of the Stagecraft in The Batman after pioneering it for The Mandalorian. Still, even that great film couldn’t avoid some people feeling it was a little flat in its design give or take.

    As its use went on, that complaint started to pick up more and more speed. It got to a point where the main criticism was that this technology creates a lifeless experience and truly only creates something that is “too polished.” Not really great for every project already filming at the time as its criticism took centerstage. Marvel went all in with projects potentially making good use of it, Thor: Love and Thunder, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the just-released Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    Marvel is already constantly under a magnifying glass for its use of a green screen and CG over the years. Especially once the pandemic hit, it felt like a free-for-all on what problems one can find and focus primarily on the few times it just wasn’t 100% right. So, the use of a technology that is already at a stage of heavy criticism during a time when filmmaking was at its most difficult was going to face some new challenges.

    Thor: Love and Thunder was the first to release that technology and the criticism of flat backgrounds has returned. Many discussions online were questioning what was the cause: bad lighting or just generally if the technology is too early for the big screen given how limited it is in scope. Its use, however, was highly praised by those working on the projects in how they combined real set pieces with the technology giving them more flexibility.

    It’s a strange fight, as there’s an expectation that “shot on set is always better,” which is definitely the case given its tangibility, but also downplays the value of this technology and its use. We want to move away from greenscreen but also push away any alternatives, especially for projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that explore a completely foreign world. Director Peyton Reed has experience working with the tech and likely was excited to return to its use.

    The film also received similar criticism due to the technology and the usual CG comments that have dominated Marvel discourse for quite some time now. It starts blending together where it’s difficult to truly tell if it’s Stagecraft or the CG that makes it difficult as a topic overall. Though some have also praised the CG and Quantumania‘s very mixed reception creates a difficult point of discourse. Yahoo’s review of the film just called it “almost wholly on green screens” which just completely sidelines the tech while, for example, CNet‘s just generally praises the world created.

    CG is a sour topic and Marvel became quite the focus given its size and popularity. Post-Endgame, there’s also a big “it’s not like it used to be” mentality that has just been pushed forward by the pandemic’s restrictions on the industry. A film like Quantumania also will rely more on CG given that it takes place fully in a non-realistic world and given its design choices, it wanted to be as wacky as possible; something praised and loathed from one review to the next.

    We know that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was initially announced to use the technology; another franchise that makes a lot of use of greenscreens and sets given its space-focused storyline. Yet, James Gunn seemingly decided against its use due to it not being able to bring his vision to life for the final film in his trilogy. So, he would’ve used it if it were fitting for what he was trying to accomplish.

    By all accounts, that would seemingly be the end of its use with this week’s release of Quantumania. Yet, there is one more hint that exists for use on The Marvels. Sadly, it’s just a very unreliable source in the form of IMDb. The upcoming Captain Marvel sequel includes credits for Stagecraft artists Robb Gardner, supervisor Christopher Django Johnston, and more. The only thing is, there’s no real official announcement about the use of the technology.

    So far, we haven’t had any official announcements for future projects and it almost seems like they won’t be focusing their use on the technology moving forward. Select projects like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did not make use of the tech. So, they aren’t forcing it into every project and there’s definitely a surprising silence on its future use after heavy promotion for Quantumania.

    At this rate, it does seem like they aren’t going to rely too heavily on it anymore. It should also be noted that all productions released this year used the technology in 2021 while COVID was still at a high point. Thor: Love and Thunder was produced in 2020 when it was even unpredictable, which makes the expectation of its necessity higher. Yet, we’re about to enter a very different era for Marvel Studios’ productions.

    It should be noted that non of the 2024 releases have even started filming just yet. In a way, we’re returning to some normalcy and their usual production schedule from before the pandemic moving forward. There hasn’t been a single production in 2022, which is curious and perhaps a showcase of rearranging pieces around the board. Quantumania was originally the ending of Phase 4 and the reception seems to hgihlight that.

    Stagecraft might still get used but we shouldn’t expect any major promotions of its use for future titles. It probably will only be a sparing addition to production if there ever is truly a necessity given whatever the production is working on. Perhaps this year will signal the final “COVID era productions” from Marvel Studios with a potential new future going into the next year. Phase 5 may have not kicked off how some wanted, but it doesn’t mean Marvel is truly over, it may just be getting started once again.

    Source: YouTube, GameRant, IndieWire, DisInsider, Movieweb, IndieWire, Total Film, IMDb, ILM

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Reaches Pre-Pandemic Super Bowl Records

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Reaches Pre-Pandemic Super Bowl Records

    The Super Bowl has once again arrived and did its usual thing by squeezing a lot of money out of advertisers for the chance of getting the most views they possibly could for their product. Of course, it’s also a big opportunity for studios to showcase some of their upcoming big releases. This year had some of the biggest films of 2023 included such as The Flash, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X, and more.

    In a big and exciting development, it seems that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally broke a pre-pandemic record of pulling in more than 100M views within 24 hours after premiering at the Super Bowl. It’s even beaten Marvel Studios’ own Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which pulled a still impressive 93.1M views last year. And that is quite a move considering its also their second released trailer. It’s impressive and a good sign of the summer blockbuster push.

    The Flash wasn’t too far behind, as it managed to pull in an impressive 97.4M, which is also major considering Warner Bros. was more of a sideline during these events. So, they returned with quite a bang but were also closely followed by Fast X’s 94.1M views within 24 hours on Social Media. The latter does also have the added effect that they where the only one of the top three to drop the trailer in advance.

    13 trailers were dropped during the Super Bowl with the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Heineken collaboration also pulling in the fourth highest viewing with 87.9M. It may be facing some critical backlash but interest is definitely there for the film and the collab may have been a clever way to sneak in a second preview for Marvel Studios. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was a bit further behind with 43.3M, a surprisingly soft starter considering how big its initial trailer drop was.

    Disney’s other major release, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny also were on the smaller side at 34.2M, but it also didn’t really include much new footage in its release outside of a few lines. It’s still some time away and the buzz may not be as big, but it’s still curious to think that the return of Harrison Ford wouldn’t have brought more buzz with it. It’s also not first-party data from studios but measured through RelishMix, which also can vary depending on its data basis. Still, it seems superheroes are still quite attractive going by public viewings.

    Source: Deadline

  • First Look at ‘Guardians of the Galaxy in ‘Vol. 3’ Funko Pops

    First Look at ‘Guardians of the Galaxy in ‘Vol. 3’ Funko Pops

    We’re only a few more months away from the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While all our eyes are on the upcoming Ant-Man release, there’s still the exciting finalé to James Gunn‘s trilogy featuring an unlikely team of galactic protectors. As the film is only a few months away, we also got our first look at a variety of new Funko Pops featuring the Guardians and even Adam Warlock.

    The Guardians are all showcased in the new uniforms we saw in some set photos many years ago and were heavily featured in the first trailer for the film. What is worth noting though is that Kraglin is seemingly not wearing a uniform and it might be a hint that he’s not a full member of the Guardians. Though, there’s always a chance this is simply the design they went with for the Funkos.

    It’s also great to see Cosmo getting a lot of focus. We got our first look at Maria Bakalova‘s take on the character, which was quite promising and already made the puppy a must-see for the third entry in the trilogy.

    Groot’s more adult version is also given quite the focus and isn’t surprising given just how popular Baby Groot was when Vol. 2 was released back in 2017. Even after almost six years, there’s no denying that he’ll likely be a fan-favorite once again though with Cosmo’s addition, he might have some tough competition.

    Source: Twitter

  • Dave Bautista Confirms ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ is His Last

    Dave Bautista Confirms ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ is His Last

    We’ve long heard hints that Dave Bautista is likely to move on from his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. He loved the role and working with director James Gunn, as well as the rest of the crew, but he wasn’t always happy about aspects of the process. Most notably, he wasn’t the biggest fan of the makeup process, but there were more hints than an official confirmation.

    In a new interview with GQ, the Glass Onion actor got a chance to discuss his acting future, where he once and for all confirms that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is his final appearance as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Dave Bautista wants to move on from the more comedic role to embrace some more dramatic performances.

    I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there’s a relief [that it’s over]. It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy—it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.

    Dave Bautista

    He highlights that he’s quite interested to work more with Blade Runner 2049 and Dune director Denis Villeneuve. He’s set to return for the upcoming sequel of Dune and he’s proven to have quite a range as an actor with some of his past performances. It’s a shame we won’t get more of him in the iconic role of Drax moving forward, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gives him a fitting send-off as it’s also Gunn‘s final installment in the franchise.

    Source: GQ

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Director Denies Any Interference by Disney or Marvel Studios

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Director Denies Any Interference by Disney or Marvel Studios

    There has been an ever-growing distrust of studios and their handling of projects. While history does show there will always be moments when they have a hand in the trajectory of a project, it’s not always something that is done purely to worsen a project. There are moments when creatives simply have different creative visions, that drift apart like with the original Ant-Man and Doctor Strange sequel scenarios with Marvel Studios, but it’s not always the case.

    Director James Gunn is currently working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel Studios before heading over to his new job as the co-CEO of DC Studios. Everyone involved has been very open about this new future venture, and Gunn is always very open to just how things happen behind the scenes. With a certain group of people online having general distrust towards Disney, Gunn instantly denied any distrust brewing on Disney or Marvel Studios influencing his current work, or even any from the past.

    There’s always been a soft spot between online fans and Disney. Not that it is entirely unfounded, but Marvel Studios generally is a very different beast and most of its influences stretch from how the greater narrative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stretches between projects. It’s a studio model they are open about, and Scott Derrickson left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on good terms.

    The only real fallout so far was with Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man, which mainly results from how far the MCU came along since the original project was pitched. Wright’s original vision dates before the first Iron Man dropped and it seems that adding a few scenes into the story went against his vision, leading to the fallout. Yet, Wright has also openly stated recently that they long buried the hatchet and it’s not uncommon that projects simply don’t come together.

    Warner Bros. has a far bigger history with its involvement on projects leading to some questionable results, such as the entire Justice League debacle. We still see the results of that today. Gunn goes on to highlight that interferences are commonly when uncertainty arises for producers, especially once a film or series has already been filmed and is being edited. Sometimes we barely even know if there was an issue, to begin with, outside of random rumors that come from third-hand sources. In the digital age, chaos simply creates a very different atmosphere and that is why there’s more distrust than ever before.

    Source: Twitter

  • James Gunn Swiftly Debunks Popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Casting Rumor

    James Gunn Swiftly Debunks Popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Casting Rumor

    The moment rumors hit the web that Bradley Cooper‘s Rocket would be joined by his love interest Lylla, everyone already had an idea who they’d want to play the character. Lady Gaga instantly became a fan-favorite to take on the role with even some rumors circulating online. The first poster recently dropped giving us our first official look at the film alongside the confirmation of her inclusion. Like clockwork, people started speculating once more and it seems director James Gunn silenced any more theories moving forward.

    To celebrate the release of the first trailer, James Gunn shared it on his personal Instagram account. Most shared their enthusiasm for the next Marvel entry and return of the popular band of intergalactic misfits. There were some, however, that used the opportunity to see if the actress voicing Lylla might have a name that ended with “ga” which the director swiftly denied without any further elaboration.

    Lady Gaga won’t be a stranger to the comic book world, as she’s set to take on the role of Harley Quinn in the upcoming Joker sequel: Folie á Deux. Yet, the casting of her as Lylla seems mostly inspired due to the chemistry that she and Cooper shared in the remake of A Star is Born. Ever since the film’s release, she’s ended up as a must-casting for the character and generally has become quite popular to appear alongside the actor. Yet, it seems that those that have imagined this happening, it seems

    Source: Instagram, The Direct

  • Gamora Cannot Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    Gamora Cannot Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    Somebody(s) will die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn has promised an emotional conclusion to his trilogy and we know that the film is the last ride for this version of the Guardians. Vegas should probably open the betting line on who fans think will die in the film (maybe they already have) and pretty much any death will pack a heavy emotional punch, but there’s one character who should have a lot more gas in the tank in the future of the MCU: Star-Lord. Gamora absolutely cannot die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    Zoë Saldaña is a sci-fi queen. Having held down roles in 3 major sci-fi franchises (Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar), Saldaña has become the second highest-grossing female actress of all time and she’s not done yet. With Avatar: The Way of Water and at least 2 more Avatar films after that, Saldaña will almost certainly surpass Scarlett Johansson. While the Avatar films are about as safe of a gig as one could ever hope to land and Saldaña seems to be tiring of the intense secrecy surrounding her Marvel Studios’ projects, the actress could have the option of another decade of MCU projects ahead of her if Gamora were to survive Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And, should Gamora survive, the opportunity to almost totally reinvent the character into a more traditional representation of the character from the comics certainly presents itself.

    Created by Jim Starlin, Gamora earned her reputation as “the most dangerous woman in the galaxy” and “the deadliest woman in the universe” by…being dangerous and deadly. Raised by Thanos as a weapon in the fight against his great enemy, the Magus, Gamora was depicted in the comics as an assassin with a near-endless amount of bodies left in her wake. While Gamora has quite a bit of the same background in the MCU, her character, like the rest of the team, has been modified quite a bit with the Gamora who is now dead having grown less stoic and ruthless over time. The Gamora who now inhabits the prime timeline has had a different set of experiences and none of those have involved her falling in love with Peter Quill, making her a bit of a blank slate when it comes to what’s known about her. She was pulled from 2014 into the post-Blip world of 2023, disappears following the Battle of Earth and is not present with the Guardians during the events of Thor: Love and Thunder. Other than that, nothing is known about her at the present.

    Though seen quite a bit in the trailer, Gamora doesn’t seem to be part of the team of Guardians. She’s not wearing the same gear as them and she seems to only be part of their trip to infiltrate the High Evolutionary’s weird space base but not part of their adventures in the first act or so. Like Loki, she’s a familiar character to fans but one who is capable of carving an entirely new path through the MCU should she have a future in it. And should the MCU’s future involve adapting the great stories of Marvel Comics’ modern cosmic age, Gamora, much like Star-Lord and Nova, could play a major role in those adaptations. Additionally, Gamora has a very complicated comic book history with Adam Warlock, who joins the MCU played by Will Poulter in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Should Gamora survive the events of that film, she faces a future full of possible stories ripped right from the comics.

    Whether Marvel Studios took the path through Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest and War of Kings or went wack with some version of Starlin’s Infinity Watch team coming together, Saldaña could suit up as Gamora anywhere between 3-6 more times in the next decade but, in doing so, completely redefine the character. That’s not an option everyone has and it seems that bringing something new to a character actors have played many times is just the type of thing that interests them enough to come back (that and lots of money). Of course all that is up to Saldaña, but from a narrative standpoint, Gamora’s recent death and the transplant of a Variant Gamora into the prime timeline provide way too many potential avenues to explore in the future for the character to die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.