Writing Thanos Into GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Was A Challenge For James Gunn

Writing Thanos Into GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Was A Challenge For James Gunn

James Gunn ("Super") not only directed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but he also co-wrote the screenplay. While chatting with Vulture he reveals that the Thanos sequence was the most difficult scene he wrote in the film. Come find out why.

By nailbiter111 - Dec 18, 2014 01:12 PM EST
Source: vulture.com

Like Joss Whedon ("Avengers: Age of Ultron"), James Gunn is multi-talented, he can write and direct a film. When he was rewriting Nicole Perlman's Guardians of the Galaxy script he encountered many challenges. Gunn tells Vulture, writing the character introductions were incredibly challenging, and required many rewrites to satisfy his own expectations. Though, Gunn admits that one scene in particular was the most difficult of them all and that was when Ronan (Lee Pace) is summoned to Sanctuary, Thanos' (voiced by Josh Brolin) base of operations.

There’s pressure with Thanos because you’re setting up this gigantic character that, in one way, isn’t really a part of your movie. His presence doesn’t really serve being in Guardians, and having Thanos be in that scene was more helpful to the Marvel universe than it was to Guardians of the Galaxy. I always wanted to have Thanos in there, but from a structural standpoint, you don’t need him. So that’s part of it, and then part of it is the fact that you’re setting up this incredibly powerful character, but you don’t want to belittle the actual antagonist of the film, which is Ronan. You don’t want him to seem like a big wussy. So how do you make that work? And that’s why Ronan kills T=the Other. I thought that was interesting, because we’ve had the Other, who’s obviously very powerful even in comparison to Loki, and then we see Ronan wipe his ass with him.

I don't know about you guys and gals but that scene certainly caught me by surprise. Marvel movies tend to play it safe so when Ronan uses his Universal Weapon to snap the neck of The Other (Alexis Denisof) my eyes burst wide open in shock. Gunn says he had a diffult time getting the tone right for that particular moment, as The Other's death initially came off as funny. He was able to expel the unintended humor, and was pleased with the final result.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM JAMES GUNN ON GOTG
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Commander Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector. James Gunn is the director and the story is by Nicole Perlman and James Gunn, with screenplay by James Gunn.
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Pasto
Pasto - 12/18/2014, 11:55 AM
I'll bathe the starways in your blood.
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:08 PM
Nail, I think if they are friends with you, they see it. I just saw some of my friends clicked on it, after the fact of course, haha...didn't know you were posting...
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:09 PM
Haha sorry nail. I saw Pasto viewed it on the ticker to the right, so that led me here. No idea how he first came across it though.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:10 PM
Yeah what batz said.
Pasto
Pasto - 12/18/2014, 12:10 PM
I saw Rochi view it.
Pasto
Pasto - 12/18/2014, 12:11 PM
Apologies Nail, I didn't know you didn't want us to see this article.
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:12 PM
Oh, right, that's how I usually see it, by Fresh (whom I'm friends with)
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:12 PM
LOL. Everything always seems to be Pasto's fault.
Pasto
Pasto - 12/18/2014, 12:12 PM
A brotha can't catch a break.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:13 PM
*goes to add DCMarvel as a friend*
Pasto
Pasto - 12/18/2014, 12:14 PM
@batz!!
Joke so dark I think it just stole my television.
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:14 PM
Haha, I removed it...play with me ;)
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:15 PM
These will all be deleted when Nail's ready to go live anyways...
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:19 PM
Regarding his quote, I actually liked the Thanos scene, thought it was cool to see Thanos not even concerned about Ronan in the least, [frick]ing shit-eating grin at the end was perfect!
batz11
batz11 - 12/18/2014, 12:24 PM
@GliderMan that's easy...

SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:27 PM
Yeah, it was tricky to portray Thanos as imposing and a legitimate force to be reckoned with (eventually), yet still avoid Ronan looking pathetic in comparison. I thought they found a great middle ground. It definitely was pure fan-service and universe-building, but I'm still glad they included that scene.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 12/18/2014, 12:30 PM
Think of it as a compliment, nail! We don't judge you based on an unfinished article...we just keep babbling on as if nothing were out of the ordinary!
Minty
Minty - 12/18/2014, 1:45 PM
Is it bad that I found the above comments exchange more entertaining than what James Gunn was saying?
McGee
McGee - 12/18/2014, 1:47 PM
We now know how to wig out nail, besides being ManCalledSting. Should have kept that info to yourself Clobbering man!

LastOfKrypton
LastOfKrypton - 12/18/2014, 1:47 PM
No matter how much I try, I just can't take Thanos serious. He'll always be a Darkseid rip-off in my mind.
DannRamm113
DannRamm113 - 12/18/2014, 1:48 PM
So i guess that there is a challenge to shoe-horning a character/avengers reference in *take a shot*!
TheLokey1
TheLokey1 - 12/18/2014, 1:48 PM
I get the idea, but didn't care for the execution. Ronan has a giant hammer, rather than point and "wind" the other to death, he rely should have smashed him
DannRamm113
DannRamm113 - 12/18/2014, 1:49 PM
@LastOfKrypton
That's because, oh i don't know, because he is! just with less of a personality/motivation
TheRationalNerd
TheRationalNerd - 12/18/2014, 1:52 PM
I think I would've loved it more if we got to see Thanos take down Ronan and take the power gem.
McGee
McGee - 12/18/2014, 1:52 PM
Aaawwww shit....Thanos shit talking thread!
McGee
McGee - 12/18/2014, 1:55 PM
I think he looked better in the after-credit scene of Avengers. His new look from GotG reminds me of the weird CGI looks from Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
LastOfKrypton
LastOfKrypton - 12/18/2014, 1:55 PM
@dannramm113 I know. This famous quote will always haunt Thanos lovers.

"I had all these different gods and things I wanted to do, which became Thanos and the Titans. Roy took one look at the guy in the Metron-like chair and said: "Beef him up! If you're going to steal one of the New Gods, at least rip off Darkseid, the really good one!"


Jim Starlin (Thanos' creator)
TheRationalNerd
TheRationalNerd - 12/18/2014, 1:55 PM
But it should still be pretty epic seeing Thanos invade the Nova Corps to steal the Power Gem. You know, just to show how bad a** he is without the powers and etc.

I'm also wondering when we'll ever get to see Nova appear within this universe? It's one thing I kept thinking about when seeing all of those Nova corps costumes...
MercwithMouth
MercwithMouth - 12/18/2014, 1:56 PM
I thought he did a good job of putting in Thanos. The dialogue was great from both him and Ronan, and him killing the Other was pretty damn cool.
JoJo1982
JoJo1982 - 12/18/2014, 1:58 PM
@therationalnerd

I think the destruction Thanos if bringing to Nova Corps/Xandar, will somehow bring in Nova(Richard Rider) out of it
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 12/18/2014, 1:59 PM
He looks funny as hell in that banner.
SpiderFraud
SpiderFraud - 12/18/2014, 2:00 PM
They better have Thanos get off his ass and wreck shit up for those infinity gems, similar to "The Thanos Quest."

TheRationalNerd
TheRationalNerd - 12/18/2014, 2:00 PM
@ManCalledSting

Well yeah I mean you're right. I was just thinking like what if Ronn actually did set sail towards Thanos like he stated at first and what if the Gurdians decided to track Ronan down only as a way of being in a crossfire between him and Thanos having a "Hulk vs Abomination"-like finally in the film. Have the Guardians barely escape with the help of Yondu or the Nova Corps and have an after credits scene teasing Thanos inserting his first prefixed gem in his glove. That would've been more dope to me than the way Ronan wash liked off I in the film.
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