‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ hits cinemas next weekend with Marvel bracing itself for what could be a winning few days at the box office. Based on one of the more obscure comics, GotG has accumulated a lot of hype because of the oddball characters, not to mention its 70s inspired soundtrack.

Guardians of The GalaxyChris Pratt was a gamble to lead this latest Marvel movie, but it's a gamble that has paid off

“I can’t believe they let me do all this stuff,” Gunn admitted of his upcoming movie. “It’s really sinking in for the first time. For the past two years, all I’ve been doing is driving forward, making this movie. Now I’m done and I’m standing outside of it, and I’m going, ‘How did you guys let me get away with all that?’”

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Riffing on films like ‘Alien’, Blade Runner ‘Star Wars’, Guardians tells a unique sci-fi story interspersed with comedy that can’t be labelled tokenistic. Anyone who’s seen the film agrees: this is as much comedy as it is all-out action. 

“All of us at Marvel wanted to do a big space movie for a long time — we grew up on those kinds of movies,” said Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. “All of the soul of the movie is 100% James,” Feige added. “It very much is a James Gunn film and a James Gunn vision. … He’s got a great voice, he’s got great ideas.”

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But while Gunn has always had a strong affinity with comic books and comic book heroes, he wasn’t always on board with the project. “The whole thing hit me, and I felt like not only was it the movie that I wanted to do and have wanted to do my entire life but it was a movie that I felt — and this is the arrogant part — needed me, otherwise it could become a travesty,” he said. “I didn’t feel that there was anybody who loves Marvel Comics and raccoons and space operas as much as I do.” (Source: The L.A Times' Hero Complex)