It is generally accepted that
Guardians of the Galaxy is the riskiest undertaking by Marvel Studios ever since the company released the first
Iron Man film back in 2008. This risk seems to be paying off well for the studio, with the film currently sitting at an outstanding 100% approval rating on RottenTomatoes as of the time of this writing, and James Gunn confirmed to direct a follow-up as a part of Phase Three. During an interview today with the
Toronto Sun, producer Kevin Feige spoke about how the film is an 'original' work for the studio.
“We think that all of our movies are original in their own way,” said Feige.
"Even if there’s a part three, like Iron Man 3 last year, it’s as original as a part three can be. The real reasons to bring this movie out now was to expand our universe and respond to a call for something more original. We’re always pushing expectations of what a Marvel movie is. But it doesn’t get pushed any further than this movie – to the other side of the galaxy."
When asked about whether he was afraid that the relatively unknown nature of the
Guardians of the Galaxy comic property would affect the film's success, he responded with
"They’re characters most people have never heard of. But when I think back to when I was watching movies, I’d never heard of RoboCop before I saw RoboCop. I’d never heard of Jaws, never heard of Close Encounters, never heard of Luke Skywalker or Marty McFly. I’d never heard of any of those until I saw them at the movies. And then I became obsessed and a huge fan. Everything is original at some point. Ultimately, I think just because people may not have any preconceived idea of who these people are shouldn’t matter. Hopefully, the posters are entertaining. Hopefully the trailers are entertaining. Hopefully that Marvel red block logo gives you some idea."
Feige then compared the predicament to when they announced their earlier films for the likes of
Iron Man, Thor, and
Captain America. "When we announced Iron Man and Thor and Captain America, the press called that ‘the B team.’ As in, ‘Marvel doesn’t have X-Men and Spider-Man, so they’re calling out the B team.’”
The producer also had nothing but praise for the film's director, James Gunn, by talking about how some of his favourite moments came to life in the film:
“You really need somebody who can create an ensemble. Some of my favourite scenes in this movie, and in The Avengers, are when the characters are just sitting talking. There’s a scene in this film when they ask what Peter Quill’s plan is. And he says, ‘I have part of a plan, I have 12% of a plan.’ That scene could be out of an independent comedy. It just happens to take place on a spaceship with characters with a lot of makeup – and a couple of characters that weren’t there on set and had to be produced with some very expensive computer graphics."
At the end of the discussion, Feige made a statement that gives an indication about how future films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that don't necessarily tie in directly to
The Avengers will be treated, saying
"The best compliment I’ve heard about Guardians is that it seems like a stand-alone movie."
Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled for release on August 1st, 2014.