GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: James Gunn On Why He Almost Didn't Direct VOL. 3; New Concept Art Revealed

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: James Gunn On Why He Almost Didn't Direct VOL. 3; New Concept Art Revealed

While James Gunn recently confirmed he would return to direct Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he wasn't always so adamant that he would, and now the filmmaker has revealed why.

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By MattBellissimo - May 16, 2017 03:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Vol. 2
While it was recently confirmed that James Gunn would be returning to helm the third installment of Guardians of the Galaxy, the director seemed very uncertain about doing it for a long time, a notion he was fairly vocal about in interviews. Now that Vol. 2 has released worldwide, Gunn revealed in a Facebook Live chat that the reason he almost didn't return was because he would have to make a film without his friend and star, Michael Rooker.

"Let me tell you, there was nothing harder for me than the choice to kill Yondu in this movie. Michael Rooker, for all the crap I give him, is one of my closest friends in the world and the last thing I wanted to do was to make a movie without Michael Rooker in the future. I almost didn’t do Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 because there was no Michael Rooker in it and I couldn’t see making the movie without him. He means that much to me and I love him that much."

In addition, some new concept art has made its way online via artist Kevin Chen, showcasing some alternate designs for Ego (Kurt Russell) and Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). Check them out below and let us know what you think!









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TheRightMan
TheRightMan - 5/16/2017, 3:42 AM
Everytime Gunn talks about Yondu's death he gets SO sad. He really loves Michael Rooker and these characters.
DetectiveCinema
DetectiveCinema - 5/16/2017, 3:46 AM
James Gunn just seems like the most genuine, relatable guy. His deep love for these characters I can relate to in a similar way, except with DC comics and characters (despite my namesake).

I enjoyed Vol. 2, not as much as the first one. However, it is a great sequel and good movie in it's own right.
DetectiveCinema
DetectiveCinema - 5/16/2017, 3:47 AM
I almost wouldn't want them to do a Vol.3 if he wasn't behind the camera.
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/16/2017, 3:56 AM
@MrMurdock - Same here. While I can understand why some may not like this particular iteration of the Guardians, Gunn really took the characters and put his own creative stamp on them. Would feel weird to have someone else take the reins for a Guardians film.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:18 AM
@MattBellissimo - After these two movies, I'm pretty sure a talented director could mimic the necessary aspects to "feel" like a Guardians movie. Peyton Reed did a damn fine simulacrum of Edgar Wright's style in Ant-Man with stuff like Luis' Story and the Cure briefcase fight that seemed 100% Wright, but actually (according to the commentary) was Reed's contribution.

Though I'm less sure about starting a script from scratch. I'm pretty confident that Gunn will have left a enough of a roadmap that if they keep doing Guardians movies, they won't suddenly shift in tone in quality.
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/16/2017, 4:25 AM
@Spock0Clock - Mimicry is one thing, and while I'm certain a talented director could pull it off, it wouldn't feel as authentic after two films by Gunn....at least to me. Ant-Man was a bit of an anomaly, plus, we never got a film from Wright within the confines of the Marvel world.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:33 AM
@MattBellissimo - Maybe, but (and I mean this without any disparaging intent to Gunn's movies), but I've always seen Gunn himself as mostly a talented mimic. What is Guardians if not Star Wars by way of Quentin Tarantino?

And obviously you'd want someone to put something of a new stamp on it for a post-Gunn volume, but I'm just saying that I think people would be (more or less) just as satisfied with something that Waititi would come up with following the same mold.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:36 AM
Oh, with more than a bit of Farscape thrown in. And I was so super jazzed to see my boy Ben Browder in the MCU, even if it was mostly a small part (though who knows for volume 3?)
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:49 AM
Now that I'm thinking about it... #TonyTilse-4-Marvel
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:58 AM
Oh man, not just Tilse, but the whole Farscape braintrust. I've got to stop before I begin a months' long obsession about what Inhumans would have been like with Rockne O'Bannon as showrunner instead of Scott Buck...

...Nope, obsession consecrated. That's going to plague me.
ElJefe
ElJefe - 5/16/2017, 4:00 AM
I just watched for a second time and realized that Yondu's fin burns up when he is cremated, yet Kraglin has it in the post creds scene. Just annoying.

Crowd during the second viewing was much livelier than opening night... they were cracking up at all the funny lines.
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/16/2017, 4:02 AM
@ElJefe - They mentioned earlier in the film that Yondu's new fin was a prototype. Not entirely hard to believe that there's more than one out there that was made.
Spock0Clock
Spock0Clock - 5/16/2017, 4:11 AM
Then why'd you kill him, James?! ANSWER ME THAT!



There are always flashbacks, so it's not 100% impossible for Rooker to come back. And there's always Kraglin...
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/16/2017, 4:13 AM
@Spock0Clock - *Ahem*

[Killing Yondu was] the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make from a storytelling perspective. I wrote a bunch of treatments where Yondu did not die. There were other endings — he was saved at the last minute after taking the sacrificial stance, and I wrote many drafts like that. And I realized I was being dishonest. That was not what this story was. For me, the most important thing in making a movie is to tell the truest and most honest story possible, and that’s whether you’re making a $500,000 indie film or a $200 million dollar spectacle film. And the truth of this story, this was about a father’s true and ultimate love for his son. This is a movie about, Who really are our fathers? Who really are our siblings? And the only way for it to be an honest story was for Yondu to die, and anything else would have been half measures, and would have been me backing out because I was afraid to tell the truth. And so that’s why Yondu dies.

There you go ;-)
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