An off-kilter genre film veteran, James Gunn had a very clear mission for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Though it was his first studio franchise movie, Gunn aimed to avoid translating the little-known Marvel title into a typical tentpole action film, steering clear of gritty origin story trappings that turn its spandex-clad musclemen into tragic, existentially tortured victims of their own power.
“There are a lot of those movies that are really boring to me,” Gunn told TheWrap earlier this week. “There are a lot of movies out there that try to be dark and brooding, when they just seem like they’re putting on — it’s sort of pretentious.