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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a massive place, with countless comic book characters occupying the big screen. But a few franchises stand out among the rest as fan favorites, especially James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. The motley crew of heroes became household names thanks to Gunn's original 2014 blockbuster, which was infused with the filmmaker's music and sense of humor. Although it turns out that one Guardians joke was cut from the original movie, thanks to Disney and the powers that be.
Disney has a ton of massive properties under its ownership, including Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This includes Guardians of the Galaxy, which is perhaps the most director-driven property in the MCU. Although it turns out that James Gunn did have to relent one specific line in the original movie. He recently revealed what that exchange consisted of, saying:
FOMO alert. While James Gunn typically puts a ton of comedy and pop culture references into his work within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it looks like the original Guardians of the Galaxy could have included even more. But ultimately some material landed on the cutting room floor, with Gunn admitting that he relented about the above line after studio push back.
James Gunn shared this insider tidbit about Guardians of the Galaxy over on his personal Twitter. The filmmaker regularly uses social media to directly communicate with the public about his work, especially within the comic book genre. During a recent Q&A, Gunn revealed that studio interference resulted in one specific joke being cut from the OG Guardians movie. And when fans pressed him for more details, the filmmaker treated us to the deleted bit of dialogue in question.
The Guardians of the Galaxy exchange in question occurred between Chris Pratt's Star-Lord and Dave Bautista's scene-stealing hero Drax. Drax is known for adding a ton of comedic moments in each of his appearances, and the original Guardians movie nearly had a scene where he shot down all of Peter Quill's Earth heroes, as well as the planet as a whole.
Marvel fans can re-watch the Guardians of the Galaxy's tenure in the MCU on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the new streaming service.
Star-Lord was abducted from Earth at a young age, which means his pop culture references throughout the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise are usually a few decades old. This helps give the property a sense of nostalgia, with figures like Mary Poppins and David Hasselhoff becoming meme-worthy for new reasons.
All eyes are on what James Gunn has in store for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While he was briefly fired from the project, Gunn has big plans for the highly anticipated threequel. Guardians 3 will wrap up the current team's story, and continue their story after the universe-changing events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. There are a ton of narrative threads to pull from, with Gunn shutting down rumors and teasing vague details on social media.
The next installment in the MCU is Black Widow on November 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
