‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Finishes The Year At Number 1?

Barring a significant surge from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies or The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Guardians of the Galaxy will end 2014 as the highest-grossing film of the year. It will be the first time a Marvel Cinematic Universe film — the term often used to describe films made by Marvel Studios that share a common universe — snagged the spot since 2012’s The Avengers.

Guardians of the Galaxy has held the title unofficially since September, according to io9. Guardians of the Galaxy is also the first, and so far only, film of 2014 to gross more than $300 million domestically. That isn’t bad for a film critics and film journalists were expecting to be Marvel Studio’s first box office flop.

Fans of Guardians of the Galaxy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been eager to see a cross over between the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers franchises, but that may not be in Marvel’s elaborate and secretive plans. James Gunn, who wrote and directed the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy, has said that the two franchises are fundamentally different, possibly too different to ever appear on screen together.

“We really are separate from the Avengers, and I don’t think people should assume too many things about the Guardians play in all this. We have our own galaxy to take care of. We have our own galaxy to save. Earth is the Avengers’ province. Thinking that everything is going to come together in a perfect way is not necessarily the way it’s going to happen.”

So fans shouldn’t expect to see Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, or even the lovable giant Groot in The Avengers: Age of Ultron when it debuts in May 2015. Though that doesn’t mean that events in The Avengers: Age of Ultron won’t affect Guardians of the Galaxy 2, perhaps via one of Marvel’s legendary post-credits scenes.

Director James Gunn commented on the challenges of working in a cinematic universe that is so tightly connected. In an interview with Vulture, Gunn described the difficulty of incorporating Thanos into Guardians of the Galaxy, something that was necessary to advance the Marvel universe, but according to Gunn, was ultimately unnecessary for the plot of the film.

“There’s pressure with Thanos because you’re setting up this gigantic character that, in one way, isn’t really a part of your movie. His presence doesn’t really serve being in ‘Guardians,’ and having Thanos be in that scene was more helpful to the Marvel universe than it was to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ I always wanted to have Thanos in there, but from a structural standpoint, you don’t need him.”

Gunn also felt that the inclusion of Thanos had the potential to rob Ronan, Guardians of the Galaxy’s primary villain, of his power. Gunn dealt with that by having Ronan kill The Other, a character established in The Avenger.