On May 4, Star Wars fans around the world celebrated Star Wars Day, which saw social media flooded with messages, images of the films, cosplay, and “May the 4th Be With You” memes. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn also joined in on the celebrations and revealed how the Star Wars franchise has been an inspiration for him growing up.
On his official Twitter account, Gunn confessed that the huge franchise created by Lucasfilm had changed his life by providing him a “template for where the imagination could go,” while sharing Star Wars-inspired posters for one of the most popular Marvel films, Guardians of the Galaxy. The posters were created by artist Matt Ferguson, who designed them to honor George Lucas’ original films.
One of Gunn’s followers asked him what his favorite piece of media related to the epic space saga was and the director immediately confirmed it was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It is one of the many games created by LucasArts for the franchise but was also the first computer role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe. Initially released in 2003, the game allowed players to choose the way the story progressed, and based on their decisions, they would either be a servant of the “light side of the Force or the dark side.” A remake of the popular game could potentially be in the works.
Fans found it interesting to see that Gunn chose to share posters representing the Guardians of the Galaxy films, as, in the past, the movie’s characters have been compared to those from Star Wars. While both franchises now share the same parent company of Disney, at the time of their release, the Star Wars films were under a completely different banner. But, despite that, it isn’t surprising that the two have a lot of things in common, especially with Gunn taking a lot of inspiration from the Star Wars films, which have set a benchmark for science fiction movies set in space.
When Guardians of the Galaxy first released in 2014, fans thought Peter Quill/Star-Lord was the modern-day Han Solo. Both play a version of a space cowboy, suitably equipped in leather, with a quirky sense of humor, and usually ending up on the wrong side of the law. Both movie franchises have similar tones, representing stories of outlaw misfits going on a mission to save the universe. Each of the films had iconic spaceships, prison breaks, loveable furry characters, and similar villains.
Gunn is currently working on Peacemaker for HBO Max, but once it is complete, work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin. The third installment in the franchise will release in theaters in May 2023, as Marvel Studios recently revealed in the Phase 4 MCU sizzle reel.
The Star Wars saga is now available on Disney Plus and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases on May 5, 2023.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter
