Perhaps the most shocking twist in Friday’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” comes at the movie’s end. As the story concludes and the screen fades to black, a title card appears reading, “The Guardians of the Galaxy will return.”
It’s a bold statement for a fledgling franchise that isn’t exactly the Avengers — or even the Fantastic Four. Even among comic book fans, the space-bound superteam remains obscure.
If someone had told you a few years ago that Marvel would pass over some of the arguably more well-known characters in its library, such as Doctor Strange and Black Panther, and gamble a reported $170 million on a film starring a raccoon and a talking tree, you might have thought they were sniffing too much of Spider-Man’s web fluid.
Further amping the risk, “Guardians” deploys an unproven leading man, Chris Pratt, and relegates its marquee names (Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel) to voice-only roles.
“I thought it was pretty crazy when I first heard they were making a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie,” the film’s director and co-writer, James Gunn, tells The Post. “But I also got it.”
The idea for the movie surfaced about five years ago at a summit involving Marvel’s brain trust. After nine movies about (mostly) terrestrial heroes, the group thought it would be fun to do a “big space movie.”
Plus, the studio was no doubt feeling a little cocky, like they could afford to take a risk after their incredible successes since 2008: Combined, the “Iron Man,” “Avengers,” “Captain America,” “Thor” and “Incredible Hulk” franchises have earned more than $2.6 billion at the box office.
“[‘Guardians’] was so different from anything we’d done before,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige tells The Post. “ ‘Guardians’ is the 10th movie we’ve done. We figured that if we continued to succeed, by the 10th movie, it was time to … take a left turn.”
And a left turn they’ve taken. The story is about a young boy, Peter Quill, who is kidnapped from Earth and grows up in outer space to become Star-Lord (Pratt), a wise-cracking mercenary. After stealing a magical stone, Quill is thrown into space-prison where he bands together with four other outlaws: a cybernetically enhanced raccoon (Rocket, voiced by Cooper), a brutish tree-on-two-legs (Groot, voiced by Diesel), a green-skinned assassin (Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana) and a tattooed strongman (Drax, portrayed by David Bautista).
The group soon discovers the stone Quill stole has the potential to destroy the galaxy, so they set out to stop Ronan (Lee Pace), an evil alien warlord, from getting it.
“I think it was time for [the studio] to open up . . . I would say the world of Marvel, but it becomes cosmic,” Pratt tells The Post. “I think they’re going to use this as a way to open up the entire Marvel universe.”
I think they’re going to use this as a way to open up the entire Marvel universe.
- Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt
Many are seeing the film as the first major test of the Marvel brand. But after a long string of hits from the studio, will the audience now trust Marvel enough to see anything it puts out — even if they’re completely unfamiliar with the characters?
“I would argue that ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Captain America’ were a test as well,” Feige says. “There’s always the perception in the mainstream that if it’s not ‘Spider-Man’ or ‘Batman’ or ‘Superman,’ it’s a risk.”
Still, Feige says he expects “Guardians” to open in a range similar to “Thor” or “Captain America: The First Avenger,” which means around $65 million. That’s less than the $95 million April’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” earned, but still enough to make “Guardians” one of the summer’s biggest hits.
Gunn says working on characters with less history was liberating.
“You’ve got a lot more people who’ve read ‘Avengers’ comics, and there are 700 back issues — [so,] you’ve got a lot of expectations on what they think you should be doing,” he says. “With the Guardians, there aren’t that many comics. I was free to do what I wanted to.”
One of the ways Gunn put his stamp on “Guardians” was by incorporating more humor, making it Marvel’s most jokey release yet. In one scene, for example, Groot dances to a Jackson 5 song.
The film also marks a new direction for Pratt. It’s his first leading role after playing supporting, often comedic parts in films such as “Delivery Man.” When he got the part, he began working out, carving a six-pack into his once-doughy midsection.
While pumping iron, Pratt’s soundtrack was often the same as the film’s. In “Guardians,” Quill is kidnapped carrying a mixtape his mother made for him of 1970s soft-rock tunes. The songs, including “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede, are his only tether to Earth.
“This was the only music Peter Quill listened to for the 22 years that he’d been in space, so I made sure I played that music on a loop for five months,” Pratt says. “Some of it I hope I never hear again … There was nothing worse than running on mile five and [‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’] comes on.”
There could be more easy listening in Pratt’s future if that end card is to be believed. Feige confirms that Marvel movies are conceived as trilogies and that if “Guardians” is a hit, a sequel will be forthcoming.
“I’d be thrilled to do [a sequel],” Pratt says. “I’m just going to sit back and eat chicken and do bench presses and wait by the phone.”
A straight sequel isn’t the only place the superteam might reappear, though. “Guardians,” although set in space, still has plenty of ties to the Marvel universe and seems to be setting the table for future films.
The aforementioned stone that Star-Lord steals is one of the Infinity Gems: six jewels that each has the power to manipulate one aspect of the universe, such as time or reality. Infinity Gems have previously shown up in “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Thor: The Dark World.” Possessing all the stones bestows godlike powers.
In a 1991 comic book story line, the cosmic villain Thanos collects all six gems and wields them on a gauntlet in a bid to take over the universe. Thanos made his cinematic debut during a brief post-credits scene in 2012’s “The Avengers,” and he reappears in “Guardians” as a background character. The speculation is he will continue to assemble Infinity Gems over the next several Marvel movies, possibly culminating a few years from now in “Avengers 3,” with Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk joining with the Guardians of the Galaxy to defeat an all-powerful Thanos.
Keep pumping iron, Pratt, and make sure someone fertilizes Groot. These weirdos could be with us for a while.
Who’s who:
Gamora (Zoe Saldana)
First comics appearance: 1975’s “Strange Tales” #180
Backstory: An orphan who was raised by the villain Thanos to become a deadly assassin.
Abilities: Possesses extraordinary fighting and weapon skills. A killing machine.
Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper)
First comics appearance: 1976’s “Marvel Preview” #7
Backstory: A cybernetically enhanced raccoon who can talk and walks upright. Works as a bounty hunter.
Abilities: A mechanical genius and an expert with weapons. The bigger the gun, the better.
Peter Quill/ Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)
First comics appearance: 1976’s “Marvel Preview” #4
Backstory: Was abducted from Earth at age 9 and raised by a blue-skinned humanoid named Yondu. Now an adult, Quill travels the galaxy, working as a mercenary.
Abilities: No superhuman powers, but does have rockets strapped to his ankles that get him out of jams.
Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel)
First comics appearance: 1960’s “Tales to Astonish” #13
Backstory: Descended from a race of walking flora, he now serves as Rocket’s muscle. He can only speak a single phrase: “I am Groot.”
Abilities: Tough and very strong. Can quickly regenerate lost limbs and grow his body into various shapes to fit a particular situation.
Drax (Dave Bautista)
First comics appearance: 1973’s “Iron Man” #55
Backstory: The brute, who’s tattooed almost from head to toe, has a personal vendetta against Ronan after the villain killed Drax’s family.
Abilities: Very strong and a good fighter.