Marvel Wants James Gunn For "Guardians"

This. This would be awesome.

THR reports that Marvel/Disney is seeking James Gunn, who most-recently gave the superhero genre a vicious dressing-down in “Super,” to try his hand at the real thing as director of “Guardians of The Galaxy.” Aside from how cool and “different” a move it would be to hand a big-budget space opera to a guy mostly known for niche genre flicks like “Slither” and some early Troma collaborations (and, yes, the two “Scooby Doo” movies;) I can think of some other reasons for fandom to get excited…

Gunn is simpatico with Joss Whedon, who just signed for “Avengers 2” in 2015 and is also “overseeing” the production of the other related Marvel films leading up to it. Among the things they share are recurring actor-buddies – specifically, one Mr. Nathan Fillion. So… do some math.

All just idle speculation, of course, since Gunn hasn’t signed yet (though it would be a VERY in-character move for Marvel to leak this “looking at him” info to gauge fan reaction, as they did the same thing when Chris Evans and Joss Whedon were “on the shortlists”); though it will certianly not be lost of fans that Marvel’s pitch for “Guardians” (a misfit crew of aliens having adventures on a starship) feels rather similar to “Firefly.”

In fact, I’d say the only question is whether fans will be pleading for Fillion to show up as Star-Lord (team leader, human astronaut who teams up with aliens) or as the voice of Rocket Raccoon (exactly what it sounds like.)

10 thoughts on “Marvel Wants James Gunn For "Guardians"

  1. Sanunes says:
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    My only issue is that he could be easily used as a scapegoat if the movie isn't great with “He doesn't like Superhero movies, look at 'Super' “, instead of seeing the real problem (if there is one). Mind you I thought the same thing when Nolan was given Batman too, so I was thrilled to be wrong.

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  2. Sam Robards, Comic Fan says:
    Unknown's avatar

    I haven't seen any of Gunn's movies, so I'll give Marvel the benefit of the doubt.

    They haven't made any bad directing choices thus far*, so I'll trust their judgment.

    As for Nathan Fillion, the only reason I don't want him as Star Lord is that it would probably draw a few too many comparisons to Firefly in terms of the concept, him being the captain and so on.

    I would, however, like him as Rocket Raccoon. At the very least, he couldn't do any worse than the awful Australian guy who voiced the character in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.

    *Thor 2 will be the one to watch, given the late change from Patty Jenkins to the Game of Thrones guy. I think they made the right call, but I would like Ms. Jenkins to do another Marvel movie. Perhaps Dr. Strange.

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  3. Sam Robards, Comic Fan says:
    Unknown's avatar

    Thoom said, “I thought he was made to play Hal Jordan?”

    He actually did play Hal Jordan in the animated movie Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and did a great job with it, too.

    As for live action, eh, I dunno. He couldn't have been any worse than Ryan Reynolds, I suppose.

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  4. Chris Cesarano says:
    Unknown's avatar

    @Sanunes, I don't think James Gunn dislikes super hero movies based on Super. Hell, before he did that he made The Specials, which was just a cynical commercial analysis of super heroes and the resulting clash of egos.

    I think he certainly likes comics and super heroes, or he wouldn't have made those films.

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  5. Anonymous says:
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    Honestly, I think Filion is getting a little old for Star Lord. Dude is forty-one, and the wrinkles and flab are starting to show. Maybe five years ago he could have done it, but now…

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  6. Capt. Phileas J. Werewolf says:
    Unknown's avatar

    No way is Fillion going to be Star Lord, he's just too old–and, frankly, I don't think he's really a movie star. He's great for tv, but he just doesn't have the look, youth, energy, or charisma for the big screen.

    I think Bob brought this up once, but he's sort of a next-gen Bruce Campbell: a nerd-favorite who was seemingly game for anything and who most people thought was “perfect” for 1,001 different geek roles, but whose movie career never really took off.

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