In Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a group of unlikely superheroes is left with the task of saving the entire galaxy.
Directed by James Gunn, “Guardians of the Galaxy” follows Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt), a brash adventurer who finds himself the target of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.
To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced team up with a motley crew of misfits: Rocket (Bradley Cooper, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot (Vin Diesel), a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora (Zoe Saldana); and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista).
Created by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, the Guardians were introduced in 1969 as a team of heroes in the 31st century, each member the last of his or her kind.
There was strong interest at Marvel Studios to do a space epic and to expand their Cinematic Universe in a new direction.
Riskiest movie
Producer Kevin Feige said “Guardians of the Galaxy” was the riskiest movie they have done since “Iron Man.”
He said that because very few people were aware of the comic book, he hoped it would feel become a form of novelty for Marvel fans.
“One of the things we found most exciting about Guardians is that the characters are not heroes but a group of outlaws and misfits who meet in prison,” executive producer Jeremy Latcham said. “They’re mostly a selfish and self-interested group who care little about anyone. Yet this team of people is thrown together with the stake of the entire galaxy on the line and come together to save it.”
While there have been several incarnations of the Guardians over the years, Marvel had planned from the early development stages to draw from the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning run of the comic from 2008 for the film.
Gunn said that they based the film on Abnett and Lanning’s work because its tone was both humorous and dark.
“I see the movie overall at its center as an action-adventure film,” Gunn said. “But within that there’s a hell of a lot of comedy and a hell of a lot of drama. People see the comedy coming but I don’t think they realize the dramatic aspect to this movie and that’s going to be a big surprise for people.”
As real as possible
It was important for Gunn that the spaces felt as real as possible in the movie
“One of the driving forces, from the beginning, was to create a gritty world that was still very colorful,” he said. “I miss some of the color palettes of the ’50s and ’60s science fiction films when things were much brighter and to intermingle those different looks from the past and create our own look was very important.”
Charles Wen, head of Marvel’s visual development, said that Gunn was “adamant about making sure the technology felt Space Age, but not too advanced or over-the-top. It needed to almost feel timeless as if space and time are generally just relative.”
“Guardians of the Galaxy” opens July 31 in theaters nationwide.