Adding Thanos toGuardians of the Galaxywas not an easy thing for James Gunn to do. On paper, it seemed perfect for Gunn to be introducing the Mad Titan on the big screen. The director was at the same time bringing in the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One would have thought that Thanos was in the cards right from the start, but that was not the case when Gunn was originally writing the stories.
Last night,James Gunndelivered commentary on the firstGuardians of the Galaxymovie on social media, revealing a lot of information about the making of the movie. Included in said commentary was the fact that Marvel Studios had one request when he was making his first MCU project. Other than that, the studio pretty much left him on his own. Gunn explains.
“The ONLY thing Marvel asked me to include was aThanos cameoand said maybe I could create an origin for the Infinity Stones. Other than that they were up for whatever and weren’t set on any one way to handle the characters.”
While Marvel Studios only had one request forGuardians of the Galaxy, it was a pretty big one.Introducing Thanos and the Infinity Stoneswas a pretty hefty task, which was not lost on James Gunn when he was crafting the originalGuardians of the Galaxystory. In the end, Gunn had to get creative with the way he brought everything together. The director had this to say about the difficulties of adding in Thanos and the Infinity Stones.
“He was an extra complication that made the story a lot more difficult to tell. The relationships between the bad guys was too complex for audiences and was by far the most difficult thing to deal with in editing.”
In the end,Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be a huge hit, along with the sequel. James Gunn was able to successfully throw Thanos and the Infinity Stones into the mix without making them feel forced at all. The director/writer was able to put the wheels in motion for everything coming together inInfinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, which he had to help out on in order to get the tones right for his characters.
With the Infinity Stones and Thanos in the rearview mirror,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3is left wide open to tell its own story, though it will have major ties toAvengers: Endgameand Thanos' actions. James Gunn is currently in the post-production process forThe Suicide Squadand he’ll begin work on the thirdGuardiansmovie sometime next year, after his DC duties have finished. With that being said, it’s going to be a while before we see all of the characters on the big screen together again. You can check outJames Gunn’s Twitteraccount below, for some of hisGuardians of the Galaxytrouble including Thanos.
