Bam Smack Pow
Fansided

James Gunn Pens Open Letter To Guardians Of The Galaxy Fans

By Steve Lam

facebooktwitterreddit

One year ago today, audiences were delighted by a thief, an assassin, a guy bent on revenge, a tree with a limited vocabulary, and a wise-cracking raccoon.  Yep, it’s August 1st and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is celebrating its one year anniversary.  Before general release, audiences who were only familiar with the more popular characters of Marvel had their doubts that Guardians of the Galaxy would even succeed.

Director James Gunn soon proved them wrong when Guardians of the Galaxy became not only one of the best entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but possibly one of the best movies of the year.  Recollecting his thoughts on making the film and how he felt “connected” with the audience when they embraced it, Gunn posted an emotional open letter to Facebook:

"One year ago today, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up in the U.S. and many places around the world. The movie massively over-performed that weekend, even by our own expectations, but what meant more to me is how much so many of you, no matter where you were from, took the story and the characters into your hearts. What meant more to me is that “We are Groot” became a rallying cry for unity among friends and families. What meant more to me is that you laughed at the dumb stuff I thought you’d miss, like “Cap’n’s gotta teach stuff” and “I was thinking of something else.” What meant more to me is that in our tenth week we were out-performing any comic book film in recent history – not because of the money, but because people were going back to see the film a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more, because they loved it. What mattered to me is that after a lifetime of telling stories and half a lifetime making movies, I felt like you and I, filmmaker and audience, were at the same place at the same time.It mattered to me mostly because I told a story fully with my heart, and you took it into yours. I don’t think I can ever explain how much that means to me. It makes every failure I’ve ever had well worth it.I get a lot of messages from people saying, “You made me believe in movies again.” Well, you guys made me believe that what I spent my life doing was worth doing. And you strengthened my belief that nothing’s worth doing, if it’s not done honestly, and it’s not done with love.On this, the one year anniversary of the cinematic Guardians entering our solar system: thank you, thank you, thank you.We really are, truly, honestly Groot.Love,James"

Because of Guardians of the Galaxy and Gunn’s propensity to reach out to fans with humble gratitude, the director has become a household name who is just as big of a celebrity as the actors who embody the larger-than-life characters.

If you’re hungering for more galactic adventures with the motley crew of space heroes, you won’t have to wait long.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set to be released on May 5, 2017.   It will again be directed by James Gunn, written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman, and star Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket.

Next: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is even more emotional

More from Bam Smack Pow

Home/Movies