From Comic Book to Screen
Just Who Are
“The Guardians of the Galaxy?”
In
1969 the team of by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, created a new band of unlikely
super heroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Guardians were first introduced as a team of heroes in the 31st
century—each member the last of his kind. The idea of creating a cinematic
project from that concept had much going for it—not only a remarkable group of
characters operating within an amazing universe, but also an opportunity to
explore another side of the Marvel Universe.
“One
of the things we found most exciting about Guardians,” explained executive
producer Jeremy Latcham “is that the characters are not heroes but a group of
outlaws and misfits who meet in prison. They’re mostly a selfish and
self-interested group who care little about anyone. Yet this team of people is
thrown together with the stake of the entire galaxy on the line and come
together to save it.”
So
just who are the members that make up this team that guards the galaxy?
PETER QUILL
Peter Quill is an interstellar adventurer who was abducted from Earth at
a young age. After recovering an ancient artifact, Quill must rally an unlikely
team of cosmic misfits to prevent a powerful villain from destroying the
galaxy. Chris Pratt, IS Peter Quill, is an interstellar adventurer. When
talking about the casting of this pivotal roll, producer Kevin Feige shared, “We auditioned many actors for the role, and
conducted a number of really detailed screen tests, and Chris Pratt, by far
just won the part. He was cool, he was sexy, he was ridiculously hilarious in
certain aspects—which he has to be—and when he puts on the costume and he puts
on the mask and he’s holding his space guns, you believe it.” Co-producer Jonathan Schwartz points out that
the Peter Quill character, being the only human, is the eye of the audience. He
explains, “Quill comes from Earth; he has this very specific frame of reference
and his frame of cultural reference stopped in the ’80s, so along the way in
the movie he’ll make references to movies and TV shows that he grew up
watching. As he moves along, Quill comments on the aliens and strange
environments as if he were looking at them like the viewing audience. Quill’s
the only being on the team who can comment on those things and be the
audience’s window into that world.”
Gamora
Gamora is an orphan from an alien world who was raised by the mysterious
Thanos to become the perfect weapon. As
Thanos’ personal assassin, Gamora has earned a reputation as a formidable
warrior. Gamora now seeks redemption for her past crimes. Zoe Saldana plays Gamora, a deadly
green-skinned assassin, who is Thanos’ adopted daughter. Saldana already had
plenty of otherworld experience, but readily admitted she was not familiar with
“Guardians of the Galaxy” before Marvel approached her about the role. During a
recent interview Saldana revealed, “I’ve always had an affinity for
unimaginable stories: simple
stories told in unimaginable places, which obviously enters the category of
science fiction, and I was fascinated with the world presented in this story.” Saldana was cast quite early in the process
and director James Gunn credits her with influencing the role significantly
while working with him on the character through several drafts. Says Gunn: “Zoe
has brought a lot to the role of Gamora working with me to create a strong
female character who is also very flawed. She is fearless in the role because
she doesn’t aspire to be liked all the time.”
DRAX
A physical brute, Drax has a personal vendetta against Ronan, who killed his
family. Now fueled by pure rage, Drax will stop
at nothing to take his revenge on the most dangerous being in the galaxy. Four time World Heavyweight Champion, and
two time WWE Champion Dave Bautista took on Drax—a quiet yet physical brute, obsessed
with avenging the death of his wife and child. The casting of Drax was a tough
one for the filmmakers, but from the very first read, David Bautista, who is
also the longest-reigning
World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history nailed it. “Dave did an amazing job
over the course of the auditions that really showcased who we wanted this
character to
be,” added Kevin Feige, “which is on the surface very strong and almost
frightening, but when you dig deeper, when you spend some time with him, you
find a sensitive side.” Director James
Gunn adds, “I just can’t imagine anyone else doing the role but Dave Bautista;
he is exactly what I imagined as Drax. He is able to
do the emotional aspects of that character, the humorous aspects of that
character, the physical aspects of that character and talk like a Shakespearean
oddball. Dave is able to do all of that and it comes so naturally.”
ROCKET & GROOT
Rounding out the Guardians
team are Rocket, a genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced talking
raccoon, and his friend Groot, an advanced humanoid tree creature, voiced by
Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, respectively. Describing the two unusual
characters, director James Gunn says, “Rocket is not the happiest guy in the
world. He’s a sad, malformed creature who has been taken apart and put back
together again. He has experienced a lot of pain in his life and is grounded as
a result and, because of that, is probably the heart of the movie in many ways,
much like Groot, Rocket’s only real friend, who can only communicate with three
words, yet his story breaks your heart.”
Ultimately much will be owed to the voices of the characters, so their
casting was hugely important to the filmmakers. Explains producer Kevin Feige:
“The most important thing is that Rocket doesn’t seem like a cartoon. We had
designed the character and it looked awesome. So it really came down to the
voice.
ROCKET
Director James Gunn elaborates, “We auditioned a fair amount of people for
Rocket. We auditioned a lot of voice actors, all of whom were either too
cartoony or couldn’t pull off the dramatic
points in Rocket’s story. We auditioned a lot of regular actors—famous
and otherwise—and they often couldn’t pull off
the comedy. Bradley is able to do both comedy and drama and
able to create a character both real and unique. Once he
was
interested in the role, I felt strongly he was the one. The
first
time I heard him do Rocket, I knew he was our guy.” Director James Gunn elaborates. For actor Bradley Cooper, doing voice-over for
a character was a first. “The whole process is so new to me,” said Cooper.
“It’s like an education every time and it’s interesting. There’s a lit of humor and a lot of heart in
this movie. All the relationships are very clear and emotional and the stakes
are obviously high and with the flavor of James Gunn, it has a comedic appeal
to it. I think people are going to be blown away by how unique and fresh this
film is.”
GROOT
When talking about the casting of Vin
Diesel as Groot, the enthusiasm is apparent. Gunn readily shared, “Vin brings
as much to his role and to the movie as any other performer. With just a
handful of lines and hundreds of
grunts he creates a character completely out-of-this-world that we still love.
I can’t imagine anyone able to balance gruffness and sweetness like Vin—and
that’s really what’s at the core of Groot. Sometimes I watch Groot on screen
and—even though I stood beside Vin through every moment of his recording—I
can’t believe the voice is coming out of a human being. He truly channels
the character in an almost supernatural way.” Commenting on Vin Diesel voicing
Groot, Feige adds, “Involving Vin Diesel in this is great fun. He is an
unbelievably passionate guy. When I called him and asked if he would be
interested in playing a character that’s a tree and says only three words, without
hesitation he said, ‘I’m in.’”Diesel admits that Groot’s one line of dialogue
sold him on the character. He explains, “How they were able to reinforce the
theme, the meaning and the message of the whole movie in one line of character
dialogue impressed me. And how that line translates in the third act is really
going to be something that allows the audience to feel like they are part of
this world and understand the stakes and what the characters are going
through.”
Here's a Sneak Peek of "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Now
that you’ve met the Guardians, the only question that remains is will space
adventurer Peter Quill be able to stay ahead of the bounty hunters that are
after him after he "accidently" steals an orb coveted by a
treacherous villain, and more importantly once discovers the powers the orb holds, will he find a way to rally the quartet of ragtag
rivals hot on his trail to save the universe? Find out when “Guardians of the Galaxy” opens
everywhere on August 1, 2014.
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