Guardians of the Galaxy Film Details
Guardians of the Galaxy (retroactively referred to as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1) is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 10th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by James Gunn, who wrote the screenplay with Nicole Perlman, it features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper as the titular Guardians, along with Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro. In the film, Peter Quill and a group of extraterrestrial criminals go on the run after stealing a powerful artifact.
Perlman began working on the screenplay in 2009. Producer Kevin Feige first publicly mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film in 2010 and Marvel Studios announced it was in active development at the July 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. Gunn was hired to write and direct the film that September. In February 2013, Pratt was hired to play Peter Quill / Star-Lord, and the supporting cast members were subsequently confirmed. Principal photography began in July 2013 at Shepperton Studios in England, with filming continuing in London before wrapping in October 2013. In addition to an original score by Tyler Bates, the soundtrack includes several popular songs from the 1960s and 1970s chosen by Gunn. Post-production was completed on July 7, 2014.
Guardians of the Galaxy premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 21, 2014, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 1 as part of Phase Two of the MCU. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $773.3 million worldwide and became the third-highest-grossing film of 2014. It was praised for its screenplay, direction, acting, humor, soundtrack, visual effects and action sequences. It was nominated for two awards at the 87th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. Two sequels have been released: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
STORY
PRODUCTION
Development
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, stating, “There are some obscure titles, too, like Guardians of the Galaxy. I think they’ve been revamped recently in a fun way in the [comic] book.” Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly, saying, “There’s an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor (2011) sort of hints at, in the cosmic side” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Feige added, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble of characters, similar to X-Men (2000) and The Avengers (2012).
Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He said the film’s titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket. Two pieces of concept art were also displayed, one of Rocket Raccoon, and one featuring the entire team. In August 2012, James Gunn entered talks to direct the film, beating out other contenders, including future MCU directors Peyton Reed and the duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.[98] The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who signed a deal to creatively consult on all of the films leading up to The Avengers sequel (2015), was enthusiastic about the selection of Gunn to direct, saying “James [Gunn] is what makes me think it will work … He is so off the wall, and so crazy, but so smart, such a craftsman and he builds from his heart. He loves the raccoon. Needs the raccoon … He has a very twisted take on it, but it all comes from a real love for the material. It’s going to be hard for [the human characters] to keep up”.
CAST
- Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord:
The half-human, half-alien leader of the Guardians who was abducted from Missouri as a child in 1988 and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers. About the character, Pratt said, “He had a hard time as a kid, and now he goes around space, making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a bit of a jerk, and through teaming up with these guys, finds a higher purpose for himself”. He also added that the character is a mix of Han Solo and Marty McFly. Pratt, who was mostly known for playing supporting characters, including Andy Dwyer on the television series Parks and Recreation, initially turned down the role. Pratt had lost weight to portray fit characters in films such as Moneyball (2011) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and had given up ambitions to play the lead role in action films after humbling auditions for Star Trek and Avatar (both 2009). Casting director Sarah Finn suggested Pratt to Gunn, who dismissed the idea despite struggling to cast that role. Despite this, Finn arranged for a meeting between the two, at which point Gunn was immediately convinced that Pratt was perfect for the role. Pratt also won over Feige, despite having gained weight again for Delivery Man (2013). Prior to filming, Pratt underwent a strict diet and training regimen to lose 60 pounds (27 kg) in six months. Pratt signed a multi-film contract with Marvel, and was granted a temporary leave from his work on Parks and Recreation to accommodate his participation in the film. Wyatt Oleff portrays a young Quill. - Zoe Saldaña as Gamora:
An orphan from an alien world who seeks redemption for her past crimes. She was trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin. Saldaña said that she became Gamora through make-up rather than computer-generated imagery (CGI) or performance capture. On taking the role, Saldaña said, “I was just excited to be asked to join by James Gunn and to also play someone green. I’ve been blue before [in Avatar]”. Saldaña described Gamora as “… a warrior, she’s an assassin and she’s very lethal, but what saves her is the same thing that can doom her. She has a sense of righteousness. She’s a very righteous individual”. - Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer:
A warrior who seeks to avenge his family’s death at the hands of Ronan. On relating to the character, Bautista said, “I can just relate to Drax so much it’s not even funny. Just the simple things that we have in common. Simple things like the tattoos, the tragedy—because, you know, I had a bit of tragedy in my life, as well. So it’s really easy for me to pull from that”. Bautista also said that there was “a lot of comic relief to Drax”, but the character was not aware of it. Bautista stated that he did not do much preparation for the role, because “Luckily, for me, I’m a lifelong athlete and I adapted real quick”. Bautista’s makeup took approximately four hours to apply, though it could be removed in just 90 minutes. Drax has various scarring patterns on his body, which replace the simple tattoos from the comics, each having a specific story. Additionally, his skin tone was changed from the bright green in the comics to a muddier gray, to avoid visual similarities to the Hulk. - Vin Diesel as Groot:
A tree-like humanoid, he is the accomplice of Rocket. Diesel stated that he provided the voice and motion capture for Groot, after originally being in talks to star in a new Phase Three Marvel film. Diesel also provided Groot’s voice for several foreign-language releases of the film. Krystian Godlewski portrayed the character on set, though his acting was not used in the final character CGI. On the character, which Gunn based on his dog, Gunn said, “All the Guardians start out the movie as bastards—except Groot. He’s an innocent. He’s a hundred percent deadly and a hundred percent sweet. He’s caught up in Rocket’s life, really”. Gunn added that the design and movement of Groot took “the better part of a year” to create. Gunn added, “The ways in which Vin Diesel says, ‘I am Groot,’ I am astounded. All of the ‘I am Groots’ that were earlier voices didn’t sound very good at all … Vin came in and in one day, laid down all these ‘I am Groot’ tracks, and he’s a perfectionist. He made me explain to him with ever [sic] ‘I am Groot,’ exactly what he was saying … It was amazing when we first put that voice in there how much the character changed and how much he influenced the character”. Regarding the limited words used by Groot, Diesel said in many ways this was, “… the most challenging thing to ask an actor to do”. Diesel found an emotional note in his performance, invoking the death of his friend and Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker, saying, “This was in December , and the first time I came back to dealing with human beings after dealing with death, so playing a character who celebrates life in the way Groot does was very nice”. Groot’s form and size-changing abilities are seen, with Gunn stating that he has the ability to grow in the film. - Bradley Cooper as Rocket:
A genetically-engineered raccoon-based bounty hunter, mercenary, and master of weapons and battle tactics. Gunn worked with live raccoons to get the correct feel for the character, and to make sure it was “not a cartoon character”, saying, “It’s not Bugs Bunny in the middle of the Avengers, it’s a real, little, somewhat mangled beast that’s alone. There’s no one else in the universe quite like him, he’s been created by these guys to be a mean-ass fighting machine”. Out of his original feelings that a talking raccoons could look a bit goofy in a superhero film, Gunn came up with a tragic origin story for Rocket that made him the “saddest creature” in the universe; said backstory would be eventually explored in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Gunn also based the character on himself. Describing Rocket in relation to the rest of the Guardians, Cooper said, “I think Rocket is dynamic. He’s the sort of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas (1990) guy”. Cooper voiced Rocket, while Sean Gunn (James’ younger brother) stood in for the character during filming. James Gunn said that for the role of Rocket, some physical movements from Cooper, including facial expressions and hand movements, were recorded as potential references for the animators, though much of Sean Gunn’s acting is used throughout the film. Sean noted they “kind of stumbled” into the process of him performing on set since they “weren’t sure how we were going to create that character”. The same process continued to be used for all subsequent appearances of Rocket. Before Cooper was cast, James Gunn said that it was a challenge finding a voice for Rocket, that he was looking for someone who could balance “the fast-talking speech patterns that Rocket has, but also can be funny, because he is really funny. But also has the heart that Rocket has. Because there are actually some pretty dramatic scenes with Rocket”. - Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser:
A Kree zealot and war criminal who agrees to retrieve an artifact for Thanos in exchange for the annihilation of his mortal enemies, the Xandarians. Ronan and his Sakaaran army hunt down the Guardians when they interfere with his goals. Describing Ronan, Gunn said, “He is the primary villain, and he is a really twisted guy, he has a really religious bent in this film. He has a very sick and twisted view of what morality is; strength is virtue and weakness is sin and that is what he lives by, and I think he is very scary because of his beliefs, which are real to him”. Pace, who originally auditioned for Peter Quill, described Ronan as a “psycho” and a “monster”. - Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta:
A blue-skinned bandit who is the leader of the Ravagers and a paternal figure to Quill. Yondu helps Quill to steal the orb before Quill betrays him, leaving Yondu and the Ravagers to chase the Guardians. On the character, Rooker said, he has “some interesting issues—not a good guy, not a bad guy. There’s hope and there’s a heart inside Yondu”. Gunn created the film’s version of the character specifically with Rooker in mind, while borrowing the character’s mohawk and use of a whistle-controlled arrow from the comics. Rooker fully committed to the role once he knew his role on the TV series The Walking Dead would be ending. Rooker’s makeup took approximately four hours to apply. - Karen Gillan as Nebula:
An adopted daughter of Thanos who was raised with Gamora as siblings and is a loyal lieutenant in the employ of Ronan and Thanos. About the character, Gillan said, “She is the female villain of the film … She is very sadistic and evil, but I like to think for a very valid reason”. She also added, “I think she’s a really interesting character. What I like to play around with is how jealous she is. She’s Gamora’s sister, and there’s a lot of sibling rivalry. That’s the most interesting aspect to me, because jealousy can consume you and turn you bitter, and ugly. And she’s a total sadist, so that’s fun too”. Gunn and Gillan worked to create Nebula’s voice as a simultaneous impression of Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood. Gillan researched the ancient Spartans, shaved off her hair and trained for two months for the role. The character’s makeup took approximately four-and-a-half hours to be applied. - Djimon Hounsou as Korath:
A Kree ally of Ronan who is a feared intergalactic hunter. As to why he took the role, Hounsou said, “I have a four-year old son who loves superheroes from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman. He’s got all the costumes. One day he looks at me and says ‘Dad, I want to be light-skinned so I could be Spider-Man. Spider-Man has light skin.’ That was sort of a shock. This is why I am excited to be a part of the Marvel Universe, so I could hopefully provide that diversity in the role of the superhero”. - John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey: A corpsman in the Nova Corps, the Nova Empire’s military and police force.
- Glenn Close as Irani Rael:
The leader of the Nova Corps, known as Nova Prime, whose mission is to protect the citizens of the Nova Empire and keep peace. Close stated that she “had always wanted to be in a movie like this”, and that it would be “the most fun to play something like the Judi Dench [as M] or Samuel L. Jackson [as Nick Fury] role”. She said that she took the role because she “love[s] to do stuff that’s different” and wanted to show that she “[has] always been up for anything”. She also stated that her contract has “several” films on it, and that she would be open to working on other Marvel Studios films in addition to returning for Guardians sequels. - Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan / The Collector:
An obsessive keeper of the largest collection of interstellar fauna, relics, and species in the galaxy who operates out of a place in space named Knowhere. Describing del Toro’s performance, Gunn said, “He’s like an outer-space Liberace. That’s what it says in the script, which he’s kind of doing”. On bringing the character to life, del Toro said, “What James [Gunn] wanted, that I found out little by little as I was doing it, is that he wanted me to explore and just keep pushing the character and keep creating [him] as I was in front of the camera”.
RELEASE
August 15, 2014
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