Sean Gunn's Journey As An MCU Actor Mirrored Kraglin's Path As A Guardian Of The Galaxy
Complicated family dynamics are a focal point for a lot of blockbuster entertainment. We all want to feel like we belong. Whether your own family is dysfunctional (they all are to some degree, aren't they?) or healthy and supportive, I think it's just human nature to be drawn to the idea of being accepted and having a place in this world to call your own.
Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy is very much a story about family, both biological and adopted. I haven't seen Vol. 3 yet, but it's clear to see from the first two films that James Gunn keeps returning to that theme with these characters — and if Vol. 2 is anything to go by, it feels like he's coming to the conclusion that found family is just as valuable and maybe even a little more trustworthy than the one you're born into.
If you know James Gunn's work beyond his MCU output, you know that he's a very loyal guy. He loves working with his found family, casting a lot of his close friends and regular screen actors again and again. He also works very closely with his blood relatives, whether it's his writer brothers Brian and Mark, who wrote the gory superhero horror "Brightburn," which Gunn produced, or his actor brother Sean, who is something of a lucky charm for the director and has appeared in some form in just about everything James Gunn has ever made.
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Sean Gunn's casting is far from nepotism. He's a talented character actor in his own right, but being related to the director and showing up to work on "Guardians of the Galaxy" must have been a little awkward. He had double duty in this series, providing movements for Rocket and playing the flesh-and-blood character Kraglin, a character who started as a henchman for Michael Rooker's (another significant Gunn collaborator) Yondu but becoming by now a cornerstone of this corner of the MCU.
In a press event attended by our own Jenna Busch, Sean Gunn was asked about Kraglin's evolution as a character and he said that Kraglin had to figure out where he was in the Guardians family for this new film. He added that the journey of the cast has mirrored the journey of the characters, especially for Kraglin.
Both Sean Gunn and Kraglin started off as bit players, not sure if they'd be accepted by the larger group or valued for what they're bringing to the table. When he began feeling fully accepted as a member of the cast was directly parallel to his character being accepted by the Guardians, to the point where he believes Kraglin is now considered a pillar of support for the group.
By all accounts, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is designed to put us all through the wringer, and if it succeeds at that it'll be because of the value James Gunn has put on family and how inclusive his idea of family is. For his own family in the mix, of course, but also for us, the audience. We're part of the Guardians now in some small way. Like it or not, we're in the family, too.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.