James Gunn Clarifies AVENGERS and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Crossover Comments
Art by Matthew Ferguson
It seems like a lot of fans are misinterpreting James Gunn's recent comments regarding The Avengers crossing over with Guardians of the Galaxy. One of the things he said comes from an interview with Comic Vine, in which he said the following:
"The last thing I said was something about how the Guardians, we really are mostly focused on creating the Guardians as their own separate universe, creating the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. It isn't all about leading towards Avengers. We're not subservient to The Avengers. Whether or not at some point, some Guardians and some Avengers meet up and meet somewhere in the world, whether it's two years from now, three years from now, four years from now, fifteen years from now… I'm not going to say. But Guardians of the Galaxy does not exist as a prequel to Avengers 3 and 4. They have their own thing that they're involved in. They have their own mythos that they're involved in. They have their own stories that are equally important."
Gunn clarified this statement in great detail on his Facebook page because apparently a lot of people didn't quite get what he was trying to say.
"Woke up the other day to two articles - one that announced I said the Avengers and the Guardians were never teaming up, another that said I said they were. These two articles were based ON THE SAME INTERVIEW (the podcast with Jeff Goldsmith). The truth is, I never said either of those things. I'm not going to tell anyone what happens to the Guardians, especially two or three movies down when who even knows if I'll be around anymore. Whatever the case, there's been a lot of anger around me - at me, from people defending me at others, and so on. And it's all people who love Marvel, like me, and just want to see awesome and amazing and moving stories.
"There are many more important things going on in the world right now, but this is clogging up my feed, so let me do my best to set the record straight. Perhaps sometimes I say things imperfectly, unclearly, or inelegantly. All I've ever tried to say was the Guardians are an important part of the MCU, and they definitely share an existence with the Avengers and other characters in the MCU. But the week after the movie opened I walked into the Marvel offices, and I sat down with Kevin Feige and some of the other folks at Marvel. We had a long discussion about where the Guardians were headed and what was happening to them. I told them exactly what I wanted to do with the sequel to Guardians, and everyone was on board and excited. And, regarding the bigger picture, we all agreed on one thing, and that was to keep huge chunks of the Guardians separate from the Marvel heroes of earth, because they have a whole galaxy to explore. We wanted to use them as a way to make the MCU bigger, not smaller. We wanted to make sure they have their own mythos, as opposed to only one that is intertwined with the earthbound characters. They ARE connected, of course, but that connection would not be the purpose of their stories and fictional lives.
"When I'm asked about the Guardians and their future, and whether they'll meet up with the Avengers I really don't have all that much to say, because some of it isn't decided yet, and I don't want to give away what is decided. So I speak in these general terms. They aren't things that I'm just saying on the spot, and they aren't things that have been decided on by me alone. But they are sometimes incredibly general, and that can lead to those words being taken in a lot of different ways. So, I'm sorry for all the different ways my words have been taken. Overall, we'll just have to wait and see where the Guardians go, who they meet, and what they do in the MCU. But know that I love them and will take the best care of them I possibly can for as long as I'm around.
"MORE IMPORTANTLY, I'm getting a lot of questions about the AA batteries in Quill's Walkman, and how Quill's Walkman can survive for so long.
"GUYS, THEY HAVE THE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY TO TRAVEL FASTER THAN LIGHT BETWEEN PLANETS, I think they can figure out an alternative power source for the Walkman, and they likely also have technology to slow the degradation to the tape and player. This seems obvious to me.
"Please be respectful in the comments below or I'll have to block you. Sorry ahead of time.
"Happy holidays, James"
I love that Gunn interacts with his fans like this, and the fact that he went out of his way to clarify the previous comments he made is pretty rad. Not a lot of directors do that kind of thing.