There was a time when it didn’t seem like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would ever happen. Or, maybe it would happen, but without James Gunn directing it. Thankfully, after all sorts of ups and downs, Gunn not only made the film, he made it his, and his team’s, farewell to Marvel Studios, all in one package.
That package is now streaming on Disney+ and, for our money, it’s one of the best Marvel movies in years. Certainly one of the best since Avengers: Endgame. And with its debut on the streaming service comes its very own Assembled making-of documentary, a series that gives fans unprecedented access behind the scenes of these top-secret projects.
Marvel Studios’ Assembled: The Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now on Disney+, so we watched it and found 15 fascinating facts that stood out from the rest. Keep reading to learn what they are.
We’ve heard that Sean Gunn plays “On-Set Rocket” for every movie the character is in, but it’s very different to actually see it happen. The way he moves around on all fours is kind of creepy but also delightful. Everyone in the documentary talks about how valuable he is to have there.
One of the more controversial moments in Vol. 3 is when the Guardians learn about the cruelty Rocket had to endure, and we see their reactions to it. The doc shows Gunn describing that to his cast and explaining that he would never show such a thing, but the audience will understand the horror via their facial expressions.
Zoe Saldana wasn’t sure how big of a role she’d have in Vol. 3 after everything that happened with Gamora in Infinity War and Endgame. In fact, she assumed she might only have two scenes and would’ve been happy with that. Of course though, she’s once again an integral part of the film.
You don’t quite get this watching the movie, but it’s explained that after Youdu’s death, all of the Ravager factions united as one and that’s why you see Ravagers wearing all different colors together in the movie.
A Gamora and Nebula spinoff? It didn’t happen, of course, but Zoe Salanda wishes that it had, because she thought the story had so much more she and Karen Gillan could’ve explored.
The Nowhere set was built almost in full, three stories high. It’s so intricate and immersive Chris Pratt says that if you dropped it into the middle of Disneyland, it could be its own attraction.
Though Orgocorp HQ in the movie is like a living organism, that wasn’t the original design. In the first draft of the script, Gunn described it as more of a gyrosphere so that’s how early designs looked. That later changed and the resulting place is described as a “wonderful colonoscopy.”
In some hilarious screen test footage of Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista before the first film, the two look like they are in some kind of sitcom, not a big Marvel movie.
The section of the doc on the creatures of Counter-Earth is one of the highlights. We learn there were three levels of design based on placement in the frame and that every single person on screen, no matter the level of detail, was practical. In fact...
Gunn claims that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has more actors in practical make-up than anymore in the history of film—topping the previous film to hold the record, Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
One of the film’s standout moments is an extended long take-action sequence with all the Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn explains how important that scene was and we learn it took upwards of six months to prepare for it.
One of the people who led that scene was stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker, who got her start in the MCU as Scarlett Johansson’s stunt double.
There are lots of touching moments in the documentary but none better than the moment James Gunn says the highlight of making these movies is that he was able to do them with his brother, Sean.
Not as a knock to anyone else in the film, but Gunn says in his initial pitch he picked dream actors to play each role before even auditioning, and only one ended up in the movies: Zoe Saldaña.
Gunn says that the word he uses the most on set was “elegant.” That was his standard. He wanted everything to look and be “elegant.”
The Assembled doc is a fantastic watch but there are a few glaring omissions in terms of behind-the-scenes. Mainly, there’s not a single mention of Groot. Not who plays him on set, not Vin Diesel, nothing.
And even worse, there’s no mention at all—and only a few fleeting glances—of how Gunn created Rocket’s friends, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. How are they not a part of this?
Source: Gizmodo