Marvel Studios will soon release James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – the third and final film in the critically acclaimed solo franchise. Before they played a key role in Thanos’s defeat in the Infinity Saga, this group of heroes helped the MCU broaden its cosmic story for the first time behind Star-Lord, Gamora, and more.
From Hiding Easter Eggs To Addressing Fan Theories
Although Thor teased this path three years earlier, the first Guardians of the Galaxy film set the stage for a plethora of future cosmic stories in 2014. Since then, they’ve had to deal with villains like Ronan the Accuser and Ego the Living Planet, as well as Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet. Director James Gunn is also known for hiding Easter eggs in his films that hint at upcoming sequels and sequels to existing franchises.
Fans have been anticipating the appearance of Adam Warlock in a future Guardians of the Galaxy film after both previous films hinted at his impending appearance. On the other hand, Gunn recently took to social media to dispel a Fantastic Four’s Galactus fan theory.
In Guardians Of The Galaxy, There Is No Galactus
James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, took to Twitter to dispel a rumor that he teased the Fantastic Four’s Galactus in the first film he directed in 2014.
@jhammond ART, a follower on Twitter, inquired if Gunn intended to make a reference to Galactus in the scene with the Collector on Knowhere. A purple screaming face appeared alongside an image of the planet being devastated by the Power Stone, and he specifically mentioned that in his video presentation.
Is this the birth of Galactus?!@JamesGunn pic.twitter.com/7ASBf2l14b
— J Hammond (@jhammond_ART) December 11, 2021
The fan also included an image of Galactus’ birth from the comics. This bears an uncanny resemblance to the face in the scene. Gunn explained that the similarity between the two images was due to the fact that Marvel didn’t own the rights to Galactus prior to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy.
“No. Marvel didn’t have the rights to Galactus in 2014. Just another example of comic book pareidolia – in the millions & millions of comic book panels that exist & the millions & millions of shots in films there is bound to be an enormous amount of coincidental overlap.”
Giving “Visual Homages”
Considering some of the more spectacular answers he receives, Gunn replied to another Tweet bemoaning the way fans compare these two shots like this and insinuate they were influenced by one another:
“Every day someone posts a shot from my film next to a comic panel or still from another film & says – the harmless version: cool how this inspired you! – or the irksome version: you ripped this off!”
In closing, Gunn admitted that he’s only “given visual homage” to other pieces of media a few times in his filmmaking career, even doing it “subconsciously” a couple of times.
“I’ve purposefully given visual homage to another artwork or film only a handful of times in my entire career. Maybe I’ve done it once or twice subconsciously. The rest – most – are coincidences.
Phase 2 Has No Place For The Fantastic Four
Almost no Marvel Comics character has received as much attention as the Fantastic Four, especially since their first MCU film was announced at Disney Investor Day 2020. However, Marvel Studios couldn’t even tease Galactus’ entrance in Guardians of the Galaxy. This is because Fox owned not only their rights but also the entitlements to their villains in 2014.
Because of James Gunn’s frequent use of Easter eggs, these tweets demonstrate just how attentive moviegoers have become to even the tiniest details in his productions. If it wasn’t for all the buzz surrounding this one, it seems that Gunn’s shot resembled a scene from the comics more than anything.
No Fantastic Four, No Galactus
In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Galactus appeared as a massive cloud in space that threatened to ruin Earth. However, that was the only time we saw him onscreen until now. Galactus can begin his reign whenever Marvel wants. This is thanks to the merger of Marvel and Fox Studios more than two years ago. This gave Marvel back the rights to the Marvel First Family.
Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four is affirmed to be in the initial phases of development. However, it is unclear when or where Fantastic Four’s Galactus will enter the picture. Teases were laid out early in Phase 4. As a reason, fans will keep a close eye out for Galactus’ full debut, no matter when that movie is released.
