Prior to its release in 2014, nobody could have predicted that Guardians of the Galaxy would become the box office behemoth that it did. At the time, Marvel's group of intergalactic a-holes were fairly obscure - especially to those not familiar with the comics. Fast forward, and with the help of a great director and star-studded cast, the two Guardians films have amassed over $1.5 billion at the box office.
In hindsight, it was a brilliant decision on Disney's part, but would the company have greenlit a Guardians movie if it had owned the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four? With Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets - and those franchises now at home with Marvel - Guardians director James Gunn was asked if he thought he would've had the same opportunity if Disney had access to those franchises back then. His answer might surprise you.
It's great to see that Gunn is so open on the subject, and it makes you wonder about some of the other movies focused on Marvel's lesser known characters such as Ant-Man and Doctor Strange. Obviously, Doctor Strange (and the Guardians) now play a prominent role in the MCU, but it's entirely conceivable that the Marvel universe would look entirely different if the chips had fallen in a slightly different way.
Looking ahead, with the MCU entering its next Phase - one more focused on cosmic adventures - it'll be interesting to see if, or how, Marvel incorporates the X-Men and Fantastic Four.