Guardians of the Galaxy Was Almost Introduced Through One-Shot Short Films

The Guardians of the Galaxy has become one of the main staples of the MCU ever since they were introduced in 2014. But back then, it was considered a big risk to bring them to the screen as they were unknown characters and the general audience might not embrace this group of cosmic characters that has a talking tree and a talking raccoon. Now, they are beloved by the fans and they eventually had a larger role in the last two Avengers films.

Per Screen Rant, according to The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Paul Terry and Tara Bennett, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige revealed that there were plans to introduce the members of the team through the One-Shot prequel short films.

He said, "We toyed with the idea of doing short films on Drax, on Rocket and Groot, and on Gamora, leading up to Guardians. This One-Shot series would have led into the Guardians movie proper - which would have also been directly preceded by a fourth self-contained short film about a mysterious kid who loved fantasy things. Then you'd start Guardians. And half-way through, we would reveal that big space hero is the kid from the short. We thought that would be clever, but it was too much."

In case you forgot, Marvel Studios used to do One-Shot short films during the earlier years of the franchise where they produce self-contained short films that serve as backstories for the characters or events in the MCU. They were usually part of the films' Blu-ray releases. The last short film that they released was back in 2013 with All Hail the King which focused on Trevor Slattery in prison after the events of Iron Man 3.

It might be the right decision to not introduce the characters through the One-Shot short films. The way the members were introduced in the first film was simply wonderful, especially with James Gunn's signature style. The moment we met the members there, we all instantly fell in love with them. If they were introduced through the short films, it could have been diminished and most of the general audience might not have even watched the One-Shot prequels since you can only see them in the home video releases.

Also Read: Star Wars Legend Mark Hamill Addresses Guardians of the Galaxy Casting

Since then, the Guardians of the Galaxy have become a mainstay in the MCU and they are expected to appear again in Thor: Love and Thunder next year. A third film is also about to start production soon, which is set to be released in 2023.