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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge place, and there are countless stories being told across the franchises. James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy series has managed to rise above the rest as a fan favorite, and moviegoers can't wait to catch up with the motley crew when they pop up in Thor: Love and Thunder. Gunn introduced the Guardians to audiences with his 2014 original movie, but it turns out that one iconic scene was actually rewritten in the midst of filming.
James Gunn is intimately involved in every single aspect of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. He's the director/writer, and has also put his taste in music and personal dance moves into the beloved property. Gunn was recently asked about a scene that "didn't work" throughout his career, and the filmmaker brought up Gamora and Star-Lord's dance scene from the first Guardians movie. As he put it,
In Guardians of the Galaxy when Quill & Gamora were on the balcony talking the scene (discussing Footloose), which read okay, was not working. I knew it wasn’t working so I shut down for an hour and rewrote the scene.
As they say, that's show business. It looks like James Gunn was able to recognize that the sweet Footloose scene wasn't working while filming Guardians of the Galaxy. And as a result he decided to change the script. The sequence works great in the theatrical cut, so it looks like Gunn had the right idea.
James Gunn shared this tidbit about Guardians of the Galaxy over on his personal Twitter account. He's often using social media to directly communicate with fans, and fields informal Q&A's. Sometimes he takes these opportunities to shut down rumors about projects like The Suicide Squad, but he's also generous enough to peel back the curtain on his creative process.
The Guardians of the Galaxy's time in the MCU is currently available on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
The Footloose scene from Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the first times we get to see Gamora and Star-Lord connect. Their love story is one of the major plot lines from the franchise, so it was key for James Gunn and company to nail their dynamic in the first movie. As a reminder, you can check out the theatrical cut of that scene below.
Pop culture references, miscommunication, romance, and a hint of violence. That's basically the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise in a nutshell. Given how well the above scene works, I'm curious as to what the original version looked like. James Gunn revealed he shut down the set for an hour, which shows how quickly the director/writer's mind works.
MCU fans can't wait for the arrival of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which should end the current trilogy of movies. While the threequel was originally meant to be one of the first installments in Phase Four, James Gunn's temporary firing and subsequent gig helming The Suicide Squad resulted in the project being pushed back a number of years. Luckily there will be additional Guardians content coming in the form of a Groot series of animated shorts, as well as a holiday special.
The next installment in the MCU is Black Widow on May 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.
