"Guardians of the Galaxy" is not yet in theaters, but director James Gunn has reportedly committed to writing and directing a sequel.
Marvel has done a masterful job of building audience interest for its first untested property. "Guardians of the Galaxy" was always a huge gamble for the studio, not being based on a property with name recognition like the Avengers or Iron Man. The success of "Guardians" will mean that Marvel can make more movies based on characters buried deep in its archives, provided it keeps putting quality first. (That should be good news for "Ant-Man.")
"Guardians" is currently sitting pretty with a 100% approval rating from critics aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes. At press time, all 25 critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes were not just positive, but overwhelmingly positive. Preview screenings have reported the same levels of enthusiasm from lucky fans who managed to see it early. Could Marvel be looking at its biggest box office hit yet? It's hard to imagine an unknown comic book property overtaking the likes of "Iron Man 3" or "The Avengers," but Marvel seems to be printing its own money these days.
With that much excitement surrounding the film, it's only natural that conversations about a second installment have already happened at Marvel. Gunn is already on record saying that he'd love to do a sequel if the first movie performs well. He hasn't commented officially on his involvement — he could be contractually obligated not to — but his co-writer Nicole Perlman told TheWrap that Gunn is not only directing but writing "Guardians of the Galaxy 2." Perlman wrote the initial draft of "Guardians," which Gunn then tweaked with his own ideas and sensibilities. Perlman believes Gunn will go it alone for the sequel.
Marvel hasn't commented on a sequel yet, but that may change soon. The studio's big panel at Comic-Con 2014 is just hours away, and the House of Ideas loves to build buzz by bringing out one surprise after another at the Con. Marvel is expected to talk about 2015's "Ant-Man" and "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," but there are many other projects in the pipeline the studio could drop hints about, such as the third Captain America and Thor movies, the heavily-rumored "Doctor Strange" movie, and more.
As for James Gunn, he hasn't chosen or announced his next project yet. So if Marvel comes calling, it looks like his dance card is wide open.
