Marvel's 'Creative Committee' Tried To Force Major Changes To Guardians Of The Galaxy

With 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy" James Gunn delivered arguably the most original film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That achievement becomes even more impressive when you learn he was facing down a group that almost sounds as if it were designed to ensure movies stopped being fun altogether. According to the director, at one point, Marvel Studios had a "creative committee" that stepped in during the writing and filming of the inaugural "Guardians" movie to make some bizarre suggestions, like taking out all the music.

Long before he oversaw a burgeoning cinematic empire as co-head of DC Studios, Gunn was making small, quirky movies like the horror-romance-comedy film "Slither." All that changed, however, when he was conscripted by Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios to oversee "Guardians," which launched Gunn to directorial stardom and showcased his unique mix of heart and humor on a massive stage. The movie felt like the first Marvel Cinematic Universe project to showcase a real artistic vision, which, as any fan of the blockbuster franchise is aware, isn't exactly what Feige and co. are known for. In fact, as the MCU has gone on, it has faced more and more criticism for churning out generic, CGI-laden bore-fests that reliably cause the eyes to glaze over within mere minutes. Gunn, however, delivered a veritable visual feast with "Guardians" while also injecting his idiosyncratic space opera with enough emotion to make it linger in audiences' minds long after they saw it. (Indeed, the director had one heartwarming goal with his "Guardians" trilogy.)

But, had the director been cowed by the, frankly, sinister-sounding "creative committee," we never would have seen such a film — and who knows, perhaps Gunn wouldn't be occupying his current position as co-head at DC Studios.

During a 2025 appearance on the "Smartless" podcast, James Gunn was asked about making "Guardians of the Galaxy," and he took some time to recount his experience of receiving what are surely some of the most misguided notes in Hollywood history. "There used to be something called the creative committee at Marvel," he explained. "And it was comic book people and toy people and all these people that would chime in with their notes on scripts." The director went on to clarify that he's happy to receive notes, explaining, "You just have to listen to them, and people are usually happy if you just listen." But according to the director, this creative committee acted "as if they were the authority on everything."

As Gunn remembered it, he and Kevin Feige would be working on "Guardians" and even produced a final screenplay before receiving "these lists of things that needed to be changed." He went on to liken his experience to the Cinemax period medical drama "The Knick," where brain surgeons would be "performing brain surgery and having a bunch of podiatrists around telling you how to do it." As he went on to explain, the committee immediately demonstrated their lack of insight by suggesting he remove all the songs from the film and questioning why Bradley Cooper was voicing Rocket Raccoon. "They saw the first cut and Bradley was doing Rocket's voice as a character," remembered Gunn. "They're like, 'Why do we pay all this money [...] he doesn't sound like Bradley Cooper?'" I'm like, 'Yeah, he's playing a character. He's an actor. That's what the guy does. That's why we hired him.'"

In Gunn's recollection, he essentially received a list of "things that just had nothing to do with storytelling" and "nothing to do with what would capture people's imaginations." Thankfully, Gunn's vision won out in the end, which is a good thing considering "Guardians of the Galaxy" was not only a success, but it also demonstrated that heroes even less popular than Iron Man was upon his 2008 big-screen debut could form the basis of a hit blockbuster.

During his "Smartless" interview, James Gunn went on to compare his experience with Marvel to his role as co-head of DC Studios alongside producer Peter Safran. According to the director, he has much more freedom in his new role, and he even heaped praise upon a figure who is otherwise considered one of the pre-eminent goblins of the modern moviemaking industry: Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav. "The only person we answer to [at DC Studios] is David Zaslav," said Gunn. "And David Zaslav tells us if he likes something or he doesn't like something, but he doesn't have any sort of say [in the creative side]" (though, as Gunn went on to clarify, he absolutely could have a say in the creative side if he wanted).

As an example, Gunn recalled sending a tape of "Superman" star David Corenswet and Lois Lane actor Rachel Brosnahan to the Warner boss. "They were so freaking good together, and I loved them," said Gunn of the two actors, "[...]I sent the tape off to David and I said, 'Here's our two choices. Here's what we want to do.' And David called me up and he sounds really dour, and he goes, 'You know, I have to preface this by saying this isn't what I do. This isn't what I know, I'm not a [...] movie creator. I'm not a storyteller like you are. This is just coming from a place of me as a person.' And then he stopped and he goes, 'I f*****g love it.'"

Considering Gunn's "Superman" was well-received as the silly but charming crowd-pleaser it is, it seems leaving the man to his own devices really is the best approach, and one he'll no doubt enjoy repeating for the upcoming "Superman" sequel "Man of Tomorrow" (which may feature the same villain as Henry Cavill's canceled "Man of Steel 2").