In a lot of ways, the MCU movies getting more laced with jokes and self-aware quips was largely due to the runaway success of James Gunn’s firstGuardians of the Galaxymovie. While the filmmaker had mostly a free hand to put his own stamp on the film, Gunn recently revealed on Twitter that there was one particular joking exchange between Drax and Peter Quill that Disney would not sign off on.
(in movie)
Quill:I come from a planet of outlaws, Billy the Kid, Bonnie & Clyde, John Stamos.
Drax:Sounds like a place that I would like to visit.
Quill:Cool. (cut)
Drax:And kill many people there."
It is not clear whyDisneyfelt this was the one joke that took things too far in the movie.Guardians of the Galaxywas laced with 80’s pop culture references, from the entire opening scene being a homage to the treasure hunting scenes inIndiana Jonesmovies, to the feature’s entire soundtrack being a love letter to 80’s music. Adding a reference to Stamos, who played the beloved role of Uncle Jesse from that era would have been pretty on-brand for the project.
Perhaps it was the implication that Stamos is an outlaw andDraxwants to kill him that Disney did not feel to be in good taste, especially since the Mouse Empire had worked with the actor on previous projects includingFull Houseand 2019’sThe Little Mermaid Live!.
In any case, that was the one part of the script thatJames Gunncould not see realized on the big screen. And the filmmaker regrets that omission so much he added in a follow-up Tweet that he wants to do what George Lucas did with his originalStar Warsmovies and retroactively make changes to the film to include the joke.
“I so wanna George Lucas it back in I can’t tell you.”
Cue cries from fans to release the #GunnCut ofGuardians of the Galaxy. However, the filmmaker can take comfort in the fact that audiences still love the version of the film they got to see in theaters, and the movie kick-started Gunn’s lucrative career in giant superhero franchises.
The next stage of that career will see Gunn working on his third and lastGuardiansfilm which will see the obscure team of space adventurers from the comics that the filmmaker made into overnight stars come full circle with their journey in the MCU.
The upcomingGuardiansmovie will see the team dealing with the fallout of Thanos’s defeat inAvengers: Endgame. Nebula is finally at peace with her past and is now a member of the team instead of their enemy. On the other hand, present Gamora is dead, while a Gamora from the past who still identifies as a merciless assassin is on the loose somewhere in the cosmos.
Also along for the ride is the God of Thunder himself, Thor, whose snippy, passive-aggressive competition with Quill to be the alpha male of the group should lead to some hilarious scenes. There’s more than enough material in there for the finalGuardians of the Galaxyfilm to be a funny, heartwarming, and epic sendoff for one of the most popular franchises within the MCU.
