James Gunn deservedly gets the lion’s share of the credit for transforming the Guardians of the Galaxy from complete unknowns to worldwide sensations and multi-billion dollar stars, but he shouldn’t get all of it.
With Vol. 3 now playing in theaters allowing audiences to bid farewell to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s marquee band of misfits, it’s time to put some respect on Nicole Perlman’s name. Who, you may ask? Well, she’s the writer hired by Marvel Studios to write a screenplay based on the obscure comic book property, a script that was then used by the powers-that-be during their talks with Gunn to convince him that signing on was in everyone’s best interest.
While the eventual director did rewrite the pages and then take over for the two sequels, Perlman’s original draft featured all of the favorites you know and love, and even incorporated Star-Lord’s love of music from the 1980s as a key driving force behind his character. However, as she revealed to Inverse, it’s not as if she’s bitter about it.
“I chose Guardians because I was a big sci-fi fan. They seemed like less of a comic book and more like Star Wars. I’m happy the world gets to know this obscure comic we loved. I feel a lot of joy. I went after the project I thought I could hit out of the park. They knew I loved projects involving space. I don’t think they were surprised. But there were bigger names in that catalog that, from a mercenary sense, would more likely get made.”
If it wasn’t for Perlman, then the entire comic book movie business could realistically look very different today, seeing as Gunn has gone from Guardians of the Galaxy to becoming the co-CEO of DC Studios. And to think, there’s a lot of folks out there with absolutely no idea who she is.