James Gunn reveals the most important trick he learned from Kevin Feige about making a cinematic universe

With the upcoming release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the press machine is in full swing, which means we’re getting plenty of interviews from its stars and director James Gunn. This, in turn, means a lot of nuggets of information about how the film was made, and how Marvel is pushing Phase 5 of the MCU, as well as some interesting quotes from all of those involved – not all of which are flattering about the projects that the studio is producing.

In a recently released ScreenRant interview Gunn did alongside Guardians star Chris Pratt, the director spoke about how the president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige advised him on making these big-budget, all-action films in the MCU, as well as a number of other topics. And, while it’s intriguing to hear the behind-the-scenes machinations and reasoning for certain things, Gunn’s point doesn’t really give viewers much confidence that they’re getting quality content.

In the interview, the director stated:

“I learned a lot from Kevin Feige about how you don’t give up on a movie, you just keep pushing it, no matter what. Like, you can’t give up on something even if it’s not the greatest movie, you’ve got to make it better.”

It takes quite a brave director to effectively admit he’s pushed through movies that he believes are “not the greatest,” especially as Marvel has been hit with numerous complaints about its predictability, overreliance on CGI, and general staleness over the last couple of years.

For a person like Gunn to admit this could be seen as a parting shot against Marvel, seeing as the Guardians director is due to join the studio’s biggest rivals at DC. After all, it’s clear that he values creative control and the ability to work a story into something that he’s proud of, versus having to stick to the strict timelines that a monster like Marvel requires. With that said, Feige has always been a huge backer of Gunn, making sure that he was brought back into the fold when he was fired from Marvel after some incredibly offensive old tweets of the director’s resurfaced, so it would be strange for Gunn to lambast him publicly like this.

What Gunn was signaling with his comments about “pushing” is unclear, but for all intents and purposes, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is looking like a victory lap for the influential creator.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases in theaters May 5.