James Gunn Will Write And Direct ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 2,’ But That’s Not All He Wants From Marvel

With Guardians of the Galaxy set to hit theaters by the end of the week, it’s only fitting that sequel talk would be flying through the air already. I mean this is Marvel we’re talking about and they’ve got a plan.

If the initial reviews and general buzz surrounding the movie are any indication, a sequel will happen. The good news is that director James Gunn will be along for the ride. From Screen Rant:

“I’m actually in a somewhat weird position because if the movie does well, the I’m gonna make the sequel. And if it does okay then, well, I’ve already been offered other movies but I can only do those other movies if I don’t do the sequel, so it’s a weird situation.”

Co-writer Nicole Perlman added to the news by basically confirming Gunn’s involvement. From Indie Wire:

“Of course they would want to make a sequel as long as [‘Guardians’] does well and people are excited about it, they’ll wanna do a sequel. So, it’s going to happen,” ‘Guardians’ co-writer Nicole Perlman told The Wrap, adding: “James will be directing ‘Guardians 2,’ so he would also be writing ‘Guardians 2.’”

Now sure, you can say it isn’t definite proof. Guardians is certainly still a risky proposition, but the marketing push and general lack of competition at the box office should make it a winner.

I don’t believe this much would be poured into the movie if it wasn’t a decent gamble for success. Also I’m kinda hoping for success because I like the characters and I like the ideas of where the story could go:

“I know a lot of where I want to go. I have a lot of ideas for stories and characters that are going to appear, and there are documents written up, that some people have, about Peter Quill’s father and his relationship, a lot of stuff about Yondu and a lot of stuff about Drax that nobody knows,” he told Film Divider. “There are a lot of things that are part of the overall schematic that already exist, not to mention a lot of stuff about all of the cultures. There’s a lot of stuff about Xandarian and Kree culture that I’ve written down or I have in my head, as well as Krylorians and Ravagers.” (via)

I’m sure that sounds like a lot of gibberish, but it’s cool stuff. Trust me. And apart from Guardians, the prospect of Gunn’s other Marvel interests are even cooler. It’s just going to be a little tougher to make them happen. From Screen Rant:

Thunderbolts? I will tell you, one time I was saying to Kevin [Feige], we were sitting on set together on one of the days he visited and I said, ‘You know, I really want to make Thunderbolts,’ and he said, ‘James, if Guardians does well you’ll be able to do whatever you want so we’ll see what happens.

Thunderbolts can mean a lot of things, all of them awesome. I just can’t see how it would work in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe. I want to be convinced it could work.

(Via Indie Wire / Screen Rant)

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