“It was like someone knocked me out”

In June 2018, James Gunn seemed invincible. After two hugely popular and successful Guardians of the Galaxy films, the filmmaker reported that he had found the perfect story to conclude his Marvel trilogy. He had been working on the screenplay for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for a year.

And then he got fired.

The reason for this was controversial tweets with jokes about pedophilia and rape, which were dug up in the course of a smear campaign against him. The director took full responsibility for the tweets and made it clear that he’s evolved as a person since then. But the damage was done: Gunn had to vacate his post at Marvel and found a job at DC.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Before the big DC reboot, James Gunn delivers one last MCU cracker

Instead of the Guardians finale, Gunn shot the comic book blockbuster The Suicide Squad and the series Peacemaker at Marvel’s biggest competitor, which ultimately earned him the position as co-boss of the new DC Universe. Before making the full switch to DC, Gunn returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe one last time and delivers the conclusion of the Guardians trilogy.

You can watch the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 here:

Two weeks before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters, I met James Gunn for an interview and spoke to him about his latest Marvel chapter.

Moviepilot: When you returned to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after The Suicide Squad, did you go back to your old script or did you start from scratch?

James Gunn: It’s actually almost the same version. A few things have changed, of course, but nothing major. When I’m working on a film, I’m forever honing the story. Change is an important part of this process. Basically it is the same story that I wrote in 2018.

Can you go into some of the details that you changed?

One thing that kept changing over the course of the different versions was [Bösewicht] Adam Warlock. I wrote it in and out until I was happy with the result. However, I can no longer tell you exactly when the role looked like. But the bottom line is that the main story was never affected. I knew exactly how the story should end. I sat on the script longer than any other script in my career. So the script was already very advanced by the time I had to leave the project.

How did you feel when the news of your resignation came?

At first it felt like a life crisis, but I found myself again pretty quickly. It was like someone knocked me out and after a few days I got back up. There are many unexpected challenges in life and this was one I had to face. To be honest, it was easy for me. There are people who experience much worse things. Yes, I lost my job, but I have enough money not to feel it directly. Other people get fired and don’t know how to pay next month’s rent. I was in a much more privileged position there.

After The Suicide Squad, was it hard for you to get back into the Guardians rhythm?

It really wasn’t a big deal. I was back in straight away. But that’s also because I’m with many [Cast- und Crew-Mitglieder] am very good friends. Chris [Pratt] and i talk almost daily. Same goes for Pom [Klementieff] and Dave [Bautista]. I stayed in close contact with everyone while filming The Suicide Squad.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. What other inspirations did you have while writing and shooting the film?

countless. For example, I find myself coming back to Wong Kar-wai’s films over and over again. They’re a constant inspiration, especially visually. Also, a few years ago, I discovered director Jung Byung-gil who made the fantastic The Villainess. With the film, if you ask me, he reinvented what an action sequence can be. That inspired me with The Suicide Squad and has been a huge influence now with Guardians. Not to be forgotten are all the writers and artists behind the comics.

Which part of Guardians 3 has the most The Villainess in it?

Oh, that’s definitely the scene at the end of the movie where all the Guardians are fighting in the corridor. There are a lot of aspects that I love about The Villainess that go into it.

At first glance, it looks like it was all shot in one take. But I assume that wasn’t the case, was it?

Yes, these were multiple shots that we digitally fused.

How did you manage to make everything flow so seamlessly?

The planning of the scene started long before the shooting. I had already worked out exactly how the scene should play out. I then sat down with the stunt coordinators and we went through each stage of the fight in detail. The next step was to bring in stunt people with whom we could try out and film the individual stunts. In the editing room we have a test version with very raw CGI effects that also used a lot of Previsz material. This trial has been constantly changing. It took a really long time before we were satisfied. When she was taut enough, we were finally able to shoot on set with the cast. I tried to make the scene as dynamic as possible. I think it took five days to get everything wrapped up.

How many different shots does the scene now consist of?

Hmm, that’s a good question. So it’s at least two, three… [er geht in Gedanken durch die Szene und gestikuliert, als würde er die Szene direkt vor sich sehen]. Well, there were at least ten shots and we then put them together so that they look like one continuous shot.

Let’s talk about the colors of the film. I really liked the idea of ​​the colorful space suits against the white background of the space station. Still, I felt like the colors are never as gaudy as they could be. What were your thoughts behind the look of the film?

The space suits were largely inspired by 2001. I had another ulterior motive though: if I send all these characters into space, how do you tell who’s who? If they all wear white suits, they all look the same and there is a lack of overview. However, if you know who is wearing which color, you can spot the characters immediately.

Is that why Drax is so upset about getting a red suit?

That’s the point. It’s a joke that at the same time sensitizes you to pay close attention to the colors. And going back to your question about the look, I wanted this film to feel like we’re looking at a series of Polaroids. That’s why the whole film is a bit more desaturated than the first two parts. I studied a lot of old photos with Henry Braham, our cinematographer, to find the look of the film. I didn’t want to ditch the bright color schemes, but I also wanted the visual concept of Guardians 3 to be distinctly different from the previous films.

What also sets the film apart from its predecessors are its many creepy characters and surprisingly disgusting scenes. Didn’t anyone at Disney say that this might be a little too dark for a family movie?

No, they didn’t say anything. I didn’t get a single comment from Disney.

“A new spooky creature? Bring it on!” Or how can I imagine that?

Basically, that’s how it went. Disney didn’t approach me with a single change request. Of course I had many conversations with [Marvel-Chef] Kevin [Feige]but they were always about something else.

What did you talk about?

Actually, when I talk to Kevin, it’s always about how we can tell the story we’re telling even better. He has many ideas and suggestions. Some I implement, some not. It really depends on what works best. In the end we showed Disney the film and they liked it. I was surprised myself and just said: “Did you just look at your phone the whole time?!” We still did test screenings because there are a few moments in the film where I wasn’t sure how the audience would react.

Oh, what was that about exactly?

It wasn’t about the gore or the violence. That too “fuck” by Star-Lord didn’t bother anyone. What bothered me was the subject of animal abuse. There are many places in the film where cruel experiments are performed on Rocket and his friends. That’s the only part of the film where I felt in the editing room that we needed to take a step back. You don’t see anything explicitly on screen, but you do hear the screams – and that can be very uncomfortable and upsetting for a lot of people. When we were finalizing the film, I tried to keep that in mind.

How long was the longest draft you had of Guardians 3?

We had a cut that was very close to three hours, but then we ended up with two and a half hours. So nothing important was cut. We then had another day of reshoots and five shots. For example, I wanted another perspective of Mantis jumping onto the side of the ship. In the cutting room I thought to myself: “Oh man, a shot in which we look deep with her and then a vertigo effect would be perfect.” But we didn’t change an entire scene or a plot line.

What should not be missing from any Guardians of the Galaxy film is a perfect mixtape as a soundtrack. How do you manage to still put together a playlist that feels unexpected and cool after all these years?

With no other film has it been so difficult for me to find the perfect music as with this one. I have hundreds of lists of songs I love – on Spotify, on Apple, on all my streaming services. I also take care of my record collection as best as I can. I’m really obsessed with music. With Guardians 3, I tried to find a good mix that would cover all possible decades and genres of music and fit the story I wanted to tell as best as possible.

What I particularly liked was starting with Radiohead’s Creep and ending with Florence + The Machine’s Dog Days Are Over. Why did you choose these two songs to frame your last Guardians film?

Just the fact that you name those two titles tells the whole story. It clearly shows how the characters develop in the film. Creep was very important in establishing the tone of the film right from the start. Nobody watches the first five minutes and thinks: “Oh, that’s just like the first two movies.” Immediately it is clear that something is different. We’ve kept the idea of ​​an opening song, but it’s not a happy one anymore. Neither Baby Groot nor Peter Quill dance around carefree. We follow Rocket, who is dejectedly roaming the streets. I think that sets the rest of the movie up very well before we end up with a song that’s hopeful about the future.

And after three Guardians movies and a holiday special, which song is the defining Guardians song for you?

There’s one song that always comes to mind when I think of Guardians and that’s Come and Get Your Love. That was the beginning of the journey and for me it’s still the song that best captures the Guardians feeling.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been in cinemas since May 3, 2023.