In the world of movies, one of the most successful space sagas in recent memory has been Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, which has produced two movies combining to gross over $1.6 billion at the global box office. This has paved the way for the band of space misfits to be heavily featured in two concurrent Avengers movies thus far, and the rag tag team is rumored to play a role in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder prior to the three Guardians-centric projects confirmed at the Disney Investor Day.
This all comes in the midst of some major political moves in the real world, one of which is the United States' establishing of the first ever Space Force as a part of its armed forces. News has just come as to what these new space soldiers will be referred as, and the man behind Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise couldn't help but throw his own voice into the story.
NEWS
Via a new report from Variety, United States Vice President Mike Pence announced that the members of the U.S. Space Force will officially be called "Guardians," which led to Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy trending worldwide on social media. The franchise's director James Gunn injected his own sense of humor into the story, asking if he could sue the U.S. government for using that name in this tweet:
Can we sue this dork? https://t.co/9skZ8aG446
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 19, 2020
The official Guardians of the Galaxy Twitter page followed Gunn's tweet with one of its own:
Who, us? 🚀
— GuardiansOfTheGalaxy (@Guardians) December 19, 2020
WHAT THIS MEANS
Politics aside, James Gunn clearly seems to be having as much fun as possible with the undeniable connection between his Marvel pet project and the name chosen for members of the U.S. Space Force. The Guardians of the Galaxy seemingly came out of nowhere in 2014 to become one of the biggest hits in pop culture, and due to their adventures largely taking place in the vast reaches of outer space, their team name has clearly made an impact on real world ventures as well.
The Guardians name was chosen after a year's worth of discussions, in which time Marvel Studios' "bunch of a-holes" has blasted to the top of the entertainment world. Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon and Karen Gillan's Nebula carried most of the weight during Avengers: Endgame before the team left Earth with Thor in tow, and they are all major players in the MCU's plans over the next few years.
Marvel CCO Kevin Feige unveiled plans for an I Am Groot Disney+ series centered around Baby Groot at Disney Investor's Day, and he also confirmed that director James Gunn would helm the one-of-a-kind Guardians of the Galaxy: The Holiday Special releasing for the 2022 Holiday season. This will precede Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, which will release in 2023.
