James Gunn Talks DC Movies, Guardians 2 And The Future Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 writer/director James Gunn is one of the most active big directors on social media. If you're not following him on Twitter or Facebook, you should be. He regularly talks very honestly about his past and current projects as well as the filmmaking industry at large. Yesterday the filmmaker did a Question & Answer session on Facebook, which included some good bits of intormation which I think is worth highlighting. He talks about the collaboration process with other Marvel directors, future Marvel movies, how he had an oppurtunity to direct a DC movie, how Guardians Vol 2 improves over the first installment and much more.

Here are some of the highlights from the James Gunn Facebook Q&A:

Q: How much collaboration is there between you and all the other directors building this huge marvel universe?James Gunn: I honestly just go into my little hole and create my story, so there isn't a lot of collaboration at the story-building end. That said, I did give the script to the Russo brothers and Marcus and McFeely to read, so they knew what I was doing in case it affected anything they were doing (which comes after me), but they didn't have any notes. I've also read a lot of the recent Marvel scripts and given them my notes.Q: Once you finish telling your Guardians of the Galaxy story, would you return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and helm another property? If yes, what is your top pick?James Gunn: Probably not, no. I'm not sure what's going on next but IF I chose to stay in the MCU I'd be playing solely with cosmic characters related to the Guardians-verse.Q: What do you think of the DC films like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and if you were presented the opportunity to make a DC film. What characters, story would you be interested in turning into movie magic?James Gunn: I thought there was some amazing action sequences in Man of Steel, but I haven't seen the other two films. I've had opportunities to make DC films, but I haven't said yes to anything, and not sure I would at this time. I've talked before about which projects appeal to me the most IF I was into making one, and it's always Shazam and Metal Men and Swamp Thing and Jonah Hex and a few other DC IPs I've enjoyed for a great deal of my life.Q: They say that Suicide Squad has beat out Guardians at the box office, but you breathed life to a bunch of mostly unknown characters to us and made them known, as opposed to their characters already being popular. So James, I look forward to watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 destroy their record.James Gunn: It beat us first weekend. We almost made more money second weekend. And there is a very likely chance we'll make more money at the end of the day (we made more domestically than BvS even). The great thing about Guardians wasn't that it came in and made a ton of money but that so many people went and told their friends about the movie, who went to see it, and that people kept coming back again and again. By the time we were in the later weeks, we were making more money than any comic book film EVER, which was such an amazing feeling for those of us who put our hearts into it.Q: Were there ever any characters from the comics you that you wanted to incorporate into Guardians of the Galaxy that didn't make the final cut? If so what dictated your decision to exclude those characters?James Gunn: Yes. In my initial treatment I had a whole other Guardian involved. I loved the character and loved including him/her, and thought my take was fun. But I started to feel that there were two many characters in the story and for all of the characters to get their due, I needed to remove one. So this character left, and Mantis stayed.Q: Is Guardians of the Galaxy 2 gonna focus more on the comedy or more drama since Thanos is becoming more and more of a threat?James Gunn: It's both more dramatic and funnier than the first one (those aren't two opposing things). But there's no Thanos in the film.Q: If Peter's dad is an angel bathed in light how does that work as a planet? Did he explode? Sounds like a dangerous way to climax. And no I don't expect a straight answer (obviously).James Gunn: To answer those questions you have to see the movie — but I promise you it all fits together — Meredith Quill's story with Peter's story with Yondu's story with Ego's story.Q: What's the one new concept you were most excited about bringing to Vol 2?James Gunn: Kurt Russell as Ego, probably. But I also love Pom as Mantis.Q: Will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 be better than the last?James Gunn: I don't really think in terms of competing with myself, but I think it is a richer, more complex, and more graceful film.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will hit theaters on May 5, 2017.