James Gunn gives Guardians of the Galaxy an emotional last ride
MANILA, Philippines — Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy has taken its third and final ride into the big screen, and no one perhaps would get more sentimental about it than its director and writer James Gunn.
It’s been almost 12 years since Gunn commenced his wildly-successful trilogy and with Volume 3 now released (at least here in the Philippines, which is two days ahead of the US), he waxed nostalgic about its epic cinematic journey.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, and Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket. They are joined by new faces, including Chukwudi Iwuji, who plays the resident villain, The High Evolutionary.
“I don’t think I could’ve dreamed that (how the films turned out). I mean, I could’ve dreamed it. I’m not gonna lie. Like, I had hopes. I felt really good about it from the beginning. I felt like we were doing something different. I felt like, you know, the world kind of needed a space fantasy that was different from ones we had seen before,” Gunn said during the virtual global presscon ahead of the movie’s theatrical run this week.
“So, I was very pleasantly surprised when my greatest hopes did come true.”
When asked about the extent of the films’ impact on him, Gunn said, “Well, I think it’s changed me in so many ways. I mean, everything I’ve learned from Kevin and Lou,” referring to producers Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito.
Another important learning or realization from his whole experience of making the trilogy was “in terms of just this family of people, I’ve been really good at hiring non-jerks,” he quipped.
“Not only non-jerks, but people who are actually positive, compassionate, loving, kind people. And so, I’ve just grown incredibly close to these people. I really love them. And it makes making movies a much more pleasant experience.”
Gunn also candidly said that if you’d ask him about his most unforgettable memories from doing Guardians of the Galaxy, it would not be its grand premieres or press junkets.
“It’s being on set and having the little moments. It’s doing bits with Chris in between sets. It’s, you know, talking to Sean. Watching, you know, Chuk turned in an amazing performance. Goofing around with Pom, wondering what the hell she’s talking about,” he pointed out.
“Like, these are the moments (laughs). You know, laughing at Karen with Pom. I have a great video, Karen, of me and Pom making so much fun of you one day,” he further shared during the presscon, hinting at how much he has gotten close to his cast.
Nevertheless, the saddest part for Gunn is bidding goodbye to the characters now well-loved by fans around the world.
“I’m gonna miss the characters. That’s the saddest part, for me, is I really, truly love these characters. I love all of them. I think there’s certain ones that I have a special fondness for, especially Rocket. And yeah, (it’s) the saddest part of all of this,” he said.
“I’m gonna see all these people again. They’re all friends of mine. But I’m not gonna see the characters. I’m not gonna be writing the characters again — at least not in the near future. And so, that’s real sadness, yeah.”
As Gunn himself mentioned, he is particularly fond of the character Rocket. In the production notes, he made it clear that when he first envisioned the trilogy over a decade ago, he knew that the core of the films was going to be Rocket’s story, from where he came from to who he really was.
“It was very important for me to tell that story,” the director noted.
As per synopsis, the film opens with the Guardians settling into life on Knowhere, but it isn’t long before their lives are going to be disrupted by Rocket’s troubled past. Rocket has no choice but to confront the trauma of his early life to save more than just the Guardians.
According to Gunn, Volume 3 is “rawer emotionally” compared to the first two installments.
The filmmaker further said of Rocket, which he described as that one character that he feels close to: “This is a little animal who was taken and turned into something he shouldn’t be and felt completely ostracized and alienated from every other life form in the galaxy and was angry because of that and angry because he’s scared.
“That loneliness is the center of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s
funny because people think of them as lighthearted movies and fun movies but everything that drives it is that emotional center of Rocket and the other characters who are all outsiders, who don’t feel as if they really belong. But the cracks start to open up a little bit between some of the characters, so they start to love each other.”
Meanwhile, this may be the last time audiences will be seeing the Guardians altogether on screen, but the cast is hoping to work again with Gunn sometime in the future.
Pratt, for one, declared during the presscon that he would jump at the opportunity.
“Making movies is really fun. When you get to do it with people that you love, it’s even more fun,” he said.
“That’s the journey, right? The destination, it sometimes sucks. Like, you know, you have this great time with all your friends and you get together and you work hard. And then you see the movie and you’re like, ‘Boy, that movie sucked. But, hey, that was a lot of fun to make it,’ you know?”
With Gunn, however, Pratt stressed that “both the journey and the destination have been glorious.”
He continued, “The films are incredible. I don’t know how he does it. And so, just selfishly, I’d be willing to deal with a terrible journey to get to this destination.
“But it happens to be an incredible journey, as well. So, it’s a lot of fun. We’re laughing. We really get each other, support one another.”
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