Marvel's Canceled GOTG Idea Shows They Misunderstood The X-Men Formula

The Guardians of the Galaxy almost utilized Marvel One-Shots for its prequel, which shows how the studio misunderstood the X-Men franchise. Set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel One-Shots are a series of short films set meant to elaborate on certain characters and events. For instance, the short Agent Carter followed the titular heroine after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, while The Consultant and Item 47 zoomed in on the lives of SHIELD agents. These one-shots were included as special features in the home media releases of MCU films, and some of them even inspired MCU television shows.

Marvel initially wanted to pursue this path, as revealed in The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Recalling the original plan for Guardians of the Galaxy, Kevin Feige discussed the idea of producing one-shots before launching the main film. Each hero would have had individual short films characterizing them, and the full feature would have focused on them teaming up.

While the studio ultimately decided against that idea, the fact that Marvel considered it in the first place implies that they have misunderstood what made their first superhero team movie — X-Men — work. Despite assembling a group of relatively unknown heroes, similar to Guardians of the Galaxy, the 2000 X-Men film is still largely considered to be the pioneer and driving force of the 21st-century superhero film genre. In the X-Men universe, there was no need for separate movies to narrate every character’s backstory. Rather, the viewers were immediately introduced to a world that needed saving, and the heroes’ characteristics could be easily understood yet distinct enough from each other.

Bryan Singer’s X-Men established the mutant war from the points of view of Logan (Hugh Jackman) and Rogue (Anna Paquin), with the characters sharing the confusion of the audience themselves about their mutations. Having to disclose that they are not the only people with special abilities is also a part of the film’s charm, which would have been ruined by elaborate prequels. Moreover, X-Men capitalized on the humanity beneath the heroes, exposing their flaws, such as arrogance and poor motives, even though they were some of the greatest beings on the planet. Instead of highlighting their individual powers, the film concentrated on bringing the team together, showcasing their relationship dynamics, and defeating the global threat.

Fortunately, Guardians of the Galaxy deviated from the one-shot prequels, as the decision proved beneficial and profitable for the film. While it may have been interesting to witness the background stories of Drax, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Star-Lord, they would have just complicated the narrative. Sure, they each have their motives pushing them to band together despite their glaring differences, but with James Gunn’s genius, the Guardians of the Galaxy stood on its own successfully, even spurring a threequel.

NEXT: What Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Casting Taught Kevin Feige