GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Creators Reflect On Team's Creation And Movie Adaptation

Offering brief thoughts on the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, while reflecting on the team's creation, hit the jump for comments from the characters' creators & editorial members.

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By DCMarvelFreshman - 8/7/2012


Reportedly leading directly into Marvel's The Avengers 2015 sequel, which Joss Whedon is officially onboard to write & direct, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation is gaining hype especially. And Vulture recently whipped up a descent rundown on each character so-far confirmed. And excerpts from the rundown offer comments from the superhero team's creators, and those who helped revive them, dotting on the team and their live-action adaptation.

A former member of the editorial staff that revived the team says, “A lot of these characters were sort of laying around. We thought, 'No one really seems to have a great deal of affection for them, so maybe we can push the Marvel science-fiction universe a little further.'”

In regards to the galactic team not being as recognizable as A-list teams like the X-Men and Fantastic Four, Rocket Raccoon co-creator Keith Giffen thinks that that fact granted them more freedom with the characters' direction.

“It's the lighthearted, fun, quip-filled, bouncy stuff that fits in pretty well with all the stuff [Marvel Studios] are already doing, and going out into space will be a nice change of setting.”

Another ex-employee of the editorial staff agrees with Griffen, adding that the the lack of expectation that motivated the Guardians comic book creators could be a similar scenario with the movie's developers. “Everyone has a firm idea of who and what Spider-Man is. If you stray too far from that, people will say, 'That's not the Spider-Man that I know,' and they're disappointed. Whereas if you throw a bunch of characters like Drax on a movie screen, there are relatively few people who have some idea in their head.”

Moving on to character specific comments, describing Groot, a walking-talking tree, an ex-staffer implies he's “A creature of wood, who feeds on wood!. Keith Giffen, who helped reboot Drax the Destroyer, states that the green warrior is “too macho for the room. I just turned him from a green imbecile into a green douchebag.” And lastly, not having anything to offer for Gamora and Rocket Raccoon, Star-Lord creator Steve Englehart had much for him.

“I deliberately made him a complete asshole, with the idea that I was going to write twelve stories about him as he worked his way through the galaxy, and by the end of it he would have become this great hero.”Showcasing his "sharp humor" with the character's name, Englehart adds “Peter Quill — Peter as a reference to a dick, and Quill as a reference to a dick. I wanted him to be completely unlikable.”




Marvel Studios has dubbed “Guardians of the Galaxy” a “big space epic” that will introduce various cosmic entities from the Marvel Comics universe. The superhero team first appeared in “Marvel Super-Heroes #18” in 1969, created by Arnold Drake & Gene Colan. In 2008, the team was rebooted by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning in “Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2) #1.” The team's live-action roster will include Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. And also Thanos, the villain who made his live-action debut unexpectedly during Marvel's The Avengers mid-credits stinger, is expected to reprise his role. With a screenplay drafted by Nicole Perlman, and reworked by Chris McCoy, no director is yet attached. And distributor Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has scheduled “Guardians of the Galaxy” for release on August 1, 2014.

Source: Vulture
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lunesta - 8/7/2012, 4:14 PM
anybody knows if nova going to be in this or is he to far from this
ComicBookSon - 8/7/2012, 4:25 PM
Can someone please clarify this for me?
So is this movie is going to be CGI but still tie in with the Avengers?
Ghostfire - 8/7/2012, 4:26 PM
Bring it On!! GOTG FTW!
Durf - 8/7/2012, 4:26 PM
nice. Can't wait to see this!
OdinsBeard - 8/7/2012, 4:28 PM
sooo star lord is named after a penis...

..fan. tastic.
Finley - 8/7/2012, 4:28 PM
REALLY anxious and super pumped to see this one. Never thought they would ever make the Guardians, let alone consider them for a film. Hoping for a big hype throughout the course of the next 2 years.
OdinsBeard - 8/7/2012, 4:29 PM
comicbookson@ who said that?
KaneVonDoom - 8/7/2012, 4:30 PM
Go Dick Dick!
RAWRG - 8/7/2012, 4:31 PM
Can't wait to see this on the big screen!!!
Rhinoman - 8/7/2012, 4:34 PM
We need to start getting Director news for this soon
Jollem - 8/7/2012, 4:36 PM
the who of the what? i am aware of characters like doop and g'nort and mr. lizard, but who are these distant cousins of the comic book world?
SageMode - 8/7/2012, 4:39 PM
MCU...........my world.
MarkV - 8/7/2012, 4:40 PM
Ladies and gentlemen: I present to you Marvel's first Mega-Flop.
MarkV - 8/7/2012, 4:43 PM
No one wants to see squirrel boy and tree man in the same cinematic universe as Iron Man and Hulk.
j0hnb1aze - 8/7/2012, 4:45 PM
Ordered “Legacy” this past weekend and can’t wait for it to get here (please be tomorrow!!!!)!

My son is 2 and just starting to like super heros (spidey and wolvie are his faves) and I’m going to introduce “comic bedtime stories”starting with GOTG!

Real frickin’ sick of The Little Engine That Could…...
ComicBookSon - 8/7/2012, 4:46 PM
@OdinsBeard
My cousin but based on your question I am guessing that he is wrong lol.
DrDoom - 8/7/2012, 4:46 PM
@MarkV

No.
Ant-Man will be the mega flop. Guardians will rock socks.
DarkSuperman - 8/7/2012, 4:51 PM
Frick this movie. Where's BLACK PANTHER dammit?!
YOUNGBL00D - 8/7/2012, 4:53 PM
Sounds like he doesn't want any of his characters to be likable
MisterNiceGuy - 8/7/2012, 4:54 PM
pleeeeeaseeeeee do this right
TonyChu - 8/7/2012, 4:57 PM
Cant wait to see Rocket Raccoon!
OdinsBeard - 8/7/2012, 4:58 PM
comicbookson@ you better believe it! live action all the way baby!

i would be against any marvel movie being all CGI. we already get them in drawings, we already get artists interpretations of them. i don't want pixar anywhere near any marvel property. i wanna see living, breathing, actual humans play the roles! there i've said my peace.
OdinsBeard - 8/7/2012, 4:59 PM
DarkSuperman@ im crossing my fingers that Black Panther will be introduced in either Ant-Man, Cap 2 (unlikley) or Avengers 2.
sKeemAn - 8/7/2012, 5:01 PM
I would rather have Black Panther but this will do.
Cerebro - 8/7/2012, 5:05 PM
So how long will it take, after the movie comes out, are these guys going to sue for money.
MARVELPSYCHO79 - 8/7/2012, 5:05 PM
I know this is off topic but I just read on Entertainment Weekly that Joss Whedon will have creative input on future Marvel movies.That is more good news.
CoolantTech - 8/7/2012, 5:07 PM
comicbookson@ GotG will be live action
OrganizedChaos - 8/7/2012, 5:15 PM
gotta wonder if characters like Quasar, Adam Warlock, Mantis, Major Victory, Cosmo, or even Bug will somewhat be in the movie. They all don't have to be in the movie, just saying that the concept art that Marvel released isn't gonna be just them
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DrDoom - 8/7/2012, 5:18 PM
@DarkSuperman

Don't "frick" this movie. "Frick" Ant-Man. We should get Black Panther to replace THAT.
silverdog - 8/7/2012, 5:26 PM
first time I heard about this movie I was like:



then I saw this guy:



and now and very curious about this project. this could end up being the coolest thing ever, or the jump the shark moment for the marvel movie universe....
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 8/7/2012, 5:28 PM
Why do people think this will fail? Not realistic enough for you? The MCU is very sci-fi.
Neoxon - 8/7/2012, 5:35 PM
- For the GotG haters, read the comic, it'll show you why this is a great idea. Besides, it's Marvel Studios, I'm sure it'll turn out fine (while I'm on the subject, I REALLY hope they get Greg Ellis back to reprise his role as Rocket Raccoon).
- As for Ant-Man, Edgar Wright is the director, it'll be fine. Besides, with Ant-Man (assuming they use Hank Pym) we'll also get Wasp, Ultron, & Vision. Hank opens the door to many other things for the MCU.
CrimsonArk - 8/7/2012, 5:42 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939
Well, it has more to do with the fact that there's going to be a giant tree man that looks like it was ripped out of The Two Towers, and a raccoon with an assault rifle. People who see this movies trailer will probably at first think "Aw sweet! A Marvel movie in space!" then they'll see Rocket Raccoon and think "Oh my God, this is going to be so stupid."
It's amazing how much a rodent with an assault rifle can affect people's opinions towards a movie.
skidz - 8/7/2012, 6:02 PM
@silverdog: Rocket's become a fan favorite for a lot of people lately. I'm assuming if they stick with what makes him fun to read he'll be one of the highlights of the movie.
sexfoodcomics - 8/7/2012, 6:02 PM
I hope phase two is the annihilation wave. Like Thanos can be the Villian in GOTG and he bringing Annihilus to try to destroy earth. Or vice versa
Gromblidor - 8/7/2012, 6:07 PM
@ Neoxon
-Agreed
sexfoodcomics - 8/7/2012, 6:10 PM
Marvel must have a specific reason for using the guardians. Other then the fact theat they are great individual characters. If they nail each character this movie will be freaking fun as hell.
StormLoganSummers - 8/7/2012, 6:14 PM
I hope they find a way to make RR likeable, considering the reputation of his people.

CaptainObvious - 8/7/2012, 6:36 PM
Rocket Raccoon is the cutest badass ever.
marvel72 - 8/7/2012, 6:47 PM
@ Prot3ctor

the avengers 2 villain,i'm hoping its ultron.
OtakuPapi - 8/7/2012, 7:00 PM
This movie is done right is going to be a kid friendly action smash. I can honestly see it,if its done correctly.
TheAbomination - 8/7/2012, 7:03 PM
That's why Guardians is my most anticipated film of Phase 2. It's so out there and the general audience don't know about them. Having read all the 2008 to 2010 issues and the Thanos Imperative, I can't wait to see how Marvel presents this sci-fi awesomeness to the public!
CPBuff22 - 8/7/2012, 7:51 PM
If you are not familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy I recommend you start reading with Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest. It will introduce you to many of the cosmic characters including GOTG.
Hammer420 - 8/7/2012, 7:53 PM
So stoked for this. I've read the first volume of the 2008 series, just finished annihilation and am starting annihilation conquest. I wonder if they'll have Adam Warlock enter in the third act or even post credits of GOTG and use him as a lead up to an infinity gauntlet storyline for avengers 2. You know Thanos is gonna be back for that, even if he ends up in GOTG he's still gotta court death and tangle with Earth's Mightiest
DrDoom - 8/7/2012, 8:10 PM
So I'm guessing Marvel wanted Galactus and Silver Surfer for this movie. Hope they get as many of their characters back as possible.
camlabar - 8/7/2012, 8:11 PM
They should go Star Wars Style for this movie!!!
ThePowerCosmic - 8/7/2012, 8:11 PM
This will be great. We need a different setting for superhero films....like the cosmos!
quadrapioneer - 8/7/2012, 8:32 PM
This NEEDS NOVA!!!
Super12 - 8/7/2012, 8:40 PM
This is going to be the movie that brings down the whole rest of the franchise. Cut the dead weight! I wish they'd make a black panther or even dr strange before this....
Neoxon - 8/7/2012, 8:42 PM
@quadrapioneer

Nova (Richard Rider) wasn't ever an actual Guardian. He did help with the founding of the team & giving them a base of operations, but that's pretty much as far as it goes. Plus there's the chance that the worst-case-scenario may occur & that Loeb may try to shoe-horn Sam Alexander as the Nova of the movie.

If they're gonna promote Nova to full-blown Guardian status, it HAS to be Richard Rider.
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