Two things are now official for the next Marvel movie franchise:
- James Gunn, the writer/director behind Slither and the best part of the seemingly discontinued reality TV series Scream Queens, will be adapting and directing the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
- Marvel has lost their minds. They're actually making a Guardians of the Galaxy movie.
If you're unfamiliar with Guardians of the Galaxy, it's...complicated. They're one of the original alternate timeline comics in the Marvel universe. It's the 31st Century and brave heroes from all over the galaxy join forces to defeat the Badoon (evil aliens). Each member of the team is the last member of their species, so the reason for their action is more survival-based than loyalty-based.
The series was rebooted in 2008 with a gun-toting raccoon creature. This specific Guardians of the Galaxy series was cancelled in 2011 but a feature film adaptation was already in the works.
Here's the thing. The series is strange, but James Gunn is stranger. He's been writing and directing really oddball low-budget genre pictures for years. Among other projects, Gunn brought to life Tromeo and Juliet (a really twisted modern take on Romeo and Juliet for Troma), Slither (one of the more wildly inventive alien invasion/pod people films), and the much acclaimed Dawn of the Dead remake. His work is stylized and always has good acting.
I honestly can't think of a better director to tackle this kind of superhero material. Sure, there's a very good chance that the project will fail. It's really weird material that just might not translate to mainstream success. If it has to happen, it might as well happen with a director who knows how to handle strange.
Thoughts on James Gunn and the Guardians of the Galaxy film? Sound off below.