There Are Over 600 Different Versions of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
A super interesting and surprising bit of information was recently revealed for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. According to Disney VP of Finishing and Stereo, Evan Jacobs, there are over 600 different versions of the Marvel movie that are optimized for different aspect ratios and screen sizes.
Jacobs explained in an interview with THR: “It’s definitely the most complex delivery Marvel’s ever done.” He went on to say that the goal is to “give every exhibitor in the United States and in most international territories [the ability to] maximize their screen size for the audience. So wherever you go to see it, you’re gonna see the best version.”
Jacobs goes on to share that Marvel releases have had 500 versions and that Avatar 2 had a record-breaking 1,065 versions! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tops 600, which is apparently high even for Marvel’s standards. He went on to say:
“Marvel has almost become legendary in the postproduction community for pushing pretty hard on deadlines and kind of waiting till the last minute to make the movie as great as we could possibly make it. [But] the movie was pretty solid. It was the movie he was gonna make at the beginning. … We didn’t have to chase a lot of crazy, and the visual effects landed in a rational, sane way. We’ve all been just like pinching ourselves.”
All these different versions are catered to the format of each theater’s screens, but Jacobs explains that it goes beyond that, adding: “Then on top of that, because [Gunn’s] got this extra real estate, he’s essentially said, ‘I’m gonna pop in and out creatively [and you’ll] suddenly see something more immersive and bigger, that’s going to fill your screen.’”
Apparently, James Gunn enjoys using the aspect ratio as part of his storytelling process and everyone involved with the film just had the time to make it work. As a director, that’s so much to oversee, but it seemed like this movie actually had a smooth production process. The film wasn’t rushed, and you can tell because the movie is so good!