One Marvel Script Took A Toll On Guardians Of The Galaxy's James Gunn
In May 2023, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" blew everyone away at the box office. Audiences loved Rocket Raccoon's (Bradley Cooper) tragic backstory and loved to hate the High Evolutionary's (Chukwudi Iwuji) wicked plots. Audiences also loved that Marvel Studios permitted James Gunn's re-entry into the MCU so that he could write and direct the final installment in his intergalactic trilogy. Despite that victory, "Vol. 3" took a surprising toll on Gunn.
During a 2024 Threads conversation, Gunn said that writing "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" exhausted him in a way that no other project ever had. "'Vol. 3' was definitely the longest [process] and took more than a year [to write]," admitted Gunn. "I just had a hard time wrapping things up. And I was running out of steam until I walked away and did 'The Suicide Squad' and came back. But even then it was not the most pleasant writing experience I've ever had. Just pure willpower pushing it through."
Given the number of hats that Gunn tends to wear on his projects, from writer to director to storyboard artist, creative burnout was inevitable. He also assured his followers that Marvel Studios allowed him total creative control over the script, presumably to dissuade anyone from claiming that his behind-the-scenes distress on "Vol. 3" was somehow the studio's fault. While Gunn's relationship with Marvel suffered public turbulence, the director's further comments suggest a strong desire to maintain peace with the studio.
James Gunn: A masterclass in redemptive public relations
During a 2019 interview with Deadline, shortly after it was announced that James Gunn would return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the director broke his silence on the matter to ensure that nobody pointed a finger at the studio. Gunn insisted that he didn't blame anyone other than himself for the termination. By his own admission, the comments for which he was initially fired fell within a reasonable window for official action. With that framework in mind, Gunn likened his attitude toward Marvel to his attitude toward his ex-wife.
"I would hate to look back on the six years that my wife and I were together and think, 'Oh, what a waste of time.' Instead, I think it was a time when I really grew a lot and we were really good to each other," said Gunn. "I wanted to feel that way about Disney. I didn't want to look back and feel bitter, upset, or angry ... I just wanted to be comfortable saying goodbye and splitting up, and that's where my head was at, even in the very early meeting we had, a week or two weeks after it all happened."
Gunn's statement, and others like it, don't preclude the possibility of more stressors affecting him behind closed doors. That said, he's notably forthcoming with information on social media when fans ask for it, and his information is typically accurate, so it's reasonable to take him at his word when he says that Marvel did not make writing "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" more difficult. Sometimes, it really is just about the art, and sometimes the art is hard. Maybe Gunn will have an easier time with "Superman: Legacy"?