The two Guardians of the Galaxy movies stand out for many reasons, but one of the most subtle is their opening credits - as director James Gunn explains. Gunn has made a name for himself with a variety of out-of-the-box takes on blockbuster genres. His biggest claim to fame, however, is still the massive Guardians franchise. The story of their rise from obscurity to popularity is well-known, but Gunn's unique voice and creative freedom within the Marvel machine helped make both films huge successes.

While we don't know much about Guardians 3, it's clear that it will help to set up the future of the MCU. There are also a few things that are guaranteed to occur. Groot will be the heart, Rocket will blow things up, and the movie will feature musical opening credits sequence. Both Guardians films have not only been praised for the way Gunn incorporates the film's soundtrack into the movie, specifically the way each movie kicks off the action with a raucous credits sequence.

Related: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Will “Set Up Next 10-20 Years of Marvel Movies”

When a fan asked Gunn on Twitter why it is that out of all the movies in the MCU the Guardians of the Galaxy films are some of the only ones with an opening credits sequence, he explained it comes from a love of films like Grease:

Gunn has always been given an impressive amount of creative freedom with his two Marvel movies. Part of that comes from their disconnect from the rest of the Avengers narrative. But the strength of the movies also comes from their irreverent tone; while both Guardians movies open with fairly standard sci-fi moments, the credit sequences that follow that quickly let audiences know they're in for something different.

After the fun but understated opening for the first film - where Peter Quill dances on his way to finding the orb - it was unknown how Gunn would top things in Vol 2. Somehow, his answer was to go even bigger while keeping things smaller. His focus on Baby Groot dancing to "Mr. Blue Sky" while the team were in the heat of battle not only kept things from getting too self-serious, but he managed to send up genre conventions by relegating a massive set-piece to the background.

Interestingly, Gunn responded to another question in the thread by saying his favorite Marvel moment outside of his franchise is when Tony Stark proclaims "I am Iron Man." Given that the moment immediately segues into a rocking credits sequence at the end of the film, it's not hard to see where some of Gunn's inspiration came from.

NEXT: Marvel Funko Short Features Star-Lord & Groot

Source: James Gunn