Kevin Feige Talks Guardians of the Galaxy And Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase II
As plot details and speculation begin to pour out of Marvel on their upcoming cosmic superhero team up movie Guardians of the Galaxy, super-producer Kevin Feige opened up about why they chose one of their strangest offerings to be part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe – Phase II. After all, Guardians of the Galaxy is not exactly a household name, but then again neither was Iron Man before Marvel Studios made the first film version featuring the billionaire metal-suited superhero in 2008.
During a panel discussion for Iron Man 3, Kevin Feige talked about Marvel’s approach to bringing Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen. Apparently, it was a very important project for Feige and he’s extremely happy to see that the cosmic peacekeepers have their own movie. “It was a long time that we wanted to bring in a movie and adventure set entirely in space,” said Feige. He continued to reveal:
“We immediately liked the idea of making a movie based on a comic mostly unknown by people and that present various superheroes in one movie. Although it’s set up from another part of the universe, a human will be in a superhero role of Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt. There will be lots of characters: from a sexy warrior to an animated tree, and a raccoon with a gun. It’s an unique franchise and we are pleased that it’s so different from what we have done so far.”
Kevin Feige proceeded to talk about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Phase III, but emphasized the importance of The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy for Phase II. He also continued to say that the old favorites would always be at hand for Marvel Studios. Feige explained:
“Currently the third phase is still developing. The 99.9% of our time is used for Phase 2, the development of The Avengers 2 and the Guardians of the Galaxy keeps us very busy. Definitely we’re not leaving aside the old glories and we can also see familiar faces such as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.”
As for Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek Into Darkness’ Zoe Saldana has been in talks to join the film’s cast as Gamora, “the deadliest woman in the galaxy” and Thanos’ adopted daughter. Saldana would join Parks and Recreation-actor Chris Pratt, who will play Star-Lord, and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, who will play Drax The Destroyer. We just need to see who will play the treelike alien Groot and the badass talking raccoon Rocket Raccoon. Fingers crossed that Jason Statham will get a phone call from Marvel to play Rocket Raccoon in the near future.
Lastly, when asked which Marvel character he’d like to see in a movie for Phase III, Kevin Feige responded:
“Dr. Strange! I love the aura of mystery that surrounds this superhero and the magical world that surrounds him. We’ve never faced anything like this and there is a lot of material that we could exploit. I would love to also see a new superhero in the ranks of the Avengers. We shall see!”
Guardians of the Galaxy will hit theaters everywhere on August 1, 2014, in 3D. Watch this clip reel of Dr. Strange from The Amazing Spider-Man cartoon below and think of actor Jon Hamm in the role.
