Guardians Of The Galaxy Is So Important To Disney

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is officially out. As the movie is released worldwide, both Disney and Marvel are holding their breath in eager anticipation. Marvel, at this point, cannot afford another box office failure. Phase 5 of Marvel is off to a rough start. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to impress at the box office. This disappointment comes directly after phase 4 of Marvel could not make any headway. Disney cannot afford another disappointing outing; thus, the pressure is on like never before.

Despite the underwhelming performance from Marvel in recent years, there are always exceptions that stand out. Spider-Man is one of these exceptions. Guardians of the Galaxy is the other. With a film IP as popular as this one, there is no way that it cannot succeed….right? However, things are more complicated than you might think. James Gunn is excellent at what he does. Due to this, Guardians of the Galaxy is experiencing massive amounts of success.

However, one factor is hard to ignore: Superhero fatigue. It is a term that we always hear and can be very real. Guardians of the Galaxy will determine how sick people are of superhero movies. It is the reason why this movie is so significant to Disney. If an IP this immensely popular fails to impress at the box office, it means doom for the rest of phase 5. Therefore, this film must go on to be highly successful. Anything less is a failure.

Will Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Struggle At The Box Office?

Reports of potential Box Office disasters for Guardians Of The Galaxy are everywhere. A couple of weeks ago, rumors started to make the rounds that this film is not trending in the best of directions. However, it is also essential to understand that these are just rumors. These speculations, however, come from a real place. Box Office predictions. For a while, the film was predicted to make around $30 million in its opening. However, the popularity of this movie is increasing every day.

Box office predictions are taking a massive turn for the better. Box office numbers predict an opening weekend of $250 million. With numbers this good, seeing this movie as anything other than a massive success is hard. This is James Gunn’s last outing as a Marvel director, and fans are eager to see his final project. Overall, Marvel does have a difficult few years ahead. As they look forward to an all-new Avengers movie in 2025, drastic changes must occur. This is something that Studio head Kevin Feige also agrees with.

He is very open about the fact that Marvel needs to focus on Quality over quantity. This is challenging when your parent company, Disney, is only motivated by eternal growth. Overall, Marvel is still capable of excellent writing. I recently started watching Loki on Disney Plus, and the series restored my faith in the writers. Although some of their execution is off, the core talent remains. Some may disagree with this take, but Marvel struggles with Production and Directing, not writing. The way they are trying to promote their movies is another big problem. The constant political and social statements are not doing them any favors.

Why The Success Of Guardians Of The Galaxy Matters

As stated, the success of Guardians of The Galaxy is critical to Marvel and Disney for several reasons. Disney is the global leader in superhero movies and has enjoyed market dominance for over a decade. There are currently 31 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is an impressive number for a universe that only dates back 15 years. To put this number into further context, James Bond stretches back 60 years and currently stands at 27 films. This also helps you understand why there is so much debate about quantity over Quality.

However, you cannot deny the popularity of these movies for Marvel. These films are incredibly successful, with a box office total of $28.774 billion and a budget of only $6.458 billion. Thus, they will want to keep this momentum up. Guardians Of The Galaxy will serve as a guide for Marvel. If this movie succeeds massively at the Box Office, it will prove that Superhero fatigue is not an issue. Instead, it will give Marvel the wake-up call that they need. People are not tired of superheroes. They do not enjoy your storytelling.

With talented Directors and producers, it is still possible to turn this ship around. As stated, the total box office revenue for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is almost $30 billion. It is worth pointing out that the bulk of this money comes from the first three phases. There are only six movies within the fourth phase, but they all failed to pull in significant numbers. Their series on Disney Plus during phase 4 is also a hit-and-miss. For every Loki, there is a She-Hulk. For every Wonda Vision, there is a Miss Marvel.

Is This The End Of Guardians Of The Galaxy?

What to expect as we prepare for the next Avengers movie is still being determined. We know the Guardians of the Galaxy will not be part of it, at least not the group’s current version. Most of the actors in this movie will leave Marvel after the film’s release. Zoe Saldana, who plays Gamora, and Dave Bautista, who plays Drax, announced they are leaving and won’t consider returning for future projects. The only actor that is open to a return is Chris Pratt. He stated that he would return to play Starlord in future Marvel projects should the character be done justice.

However, having Starlord as a standalone superhero might be challenging. With James Gunn and most of the actors not returning, it is safe to say that this is the end of the road for the Guardians as we know them. With Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, and The Guardians gone, this is a new age for Marvel. The question is, can a new crop of talent take the universe forward? This is a tricky question because this is the first time we have seen this situation. Actors are replaced as superheroes all the time. However, there is usually a gap between casting.

You get a new casting every generation, allowing new fans to come in and grow up with their version of the superhero. We see this with heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. However, up until now, these heroes have never been part of a cinematic universe. Doing recastings when all your movies are linked together is significantly more complex.

Conclusion

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe being 15 years old, the current group of fans is getting older. You might have been a teenager when you started watching, and now you are an adult with a family. Some people simply age and move away from watching certain types of movies. When your whole universe is linked, it is challenging for new fans to join in and watch. However, it is also this business model that makes Marvel so successful. Therefore, I do not see them changing anything.

DC is busy copying this exact strategy, and Marvel will continue down its current path. Hopefully, everything works out for superhero fans so that they can continue to enjoy their favorite movies.