Chris Pratt takes pride in how far Guardians of the Galaxy has come
MANILA, Philippines — Chris Pratt recently looked back on how Guardians of the Galaxy was initially predicted by critics to be the “first big flop” of Marvel Studios.
When the first film of the James Gunn-directed trilogy came out in 2014, it was oft-described as a huge gamble on the part of Marvel, being a sci-fi-action/space epic based on a lesser-known Marvel comics story.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, however, became a box-office blockbuster, reportedly raking in $773 million in global sales and transforming the formerly obscure space guardians into iconic characters of what has since become one of the most popular superhero franchises. It’s also acknowledged as the acting vehicle that propelled Pratt’s career to stratospheric levels and made him the marquee leading man that he is today.
Nearly 10 years after, the trilogy has now reached the end of the road with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And Pratt, who reprises his role as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the third and last film, said he wanted to be the guy to remind everyone how far they have come since Vol. 1.
When asked during a global virtual presscon recently about his last day on set and if he ever delivered a goodbye speech, Pratt quipped, “I don’t know if they wanted me to, but they weren’t going to stop me.”
Nevertheless, he hinted that he savored that moment by offering some words to remind the cast and production of the challenges they were able to surpass over the course of three movies.
“I guess, you know, the thing that you want to avoid is regret, right? One day, looking back and thinking, why did I just let that go by without trying to enjoy every moment? Why didn’t I savor that? And I knew that going into it. So, I’ll never have that thought in my head that man, I just wasn’t present to it. I was present,” Pratt said.
In retrospect, “it still felt like a whirlwind” for him. His overwhelming feeling at that time was that of gratefulness.
“For the most part, you know, the feelings that I was sort of writing down on the back of my mind about the experience were, they sound trite, but it was just gratitude and just being grateful,” he further shared during the media event.
“To James, I wanted to be the guy who reminded everyone how far we’d come. And all the things that we’d overcome.”
These included bad reviews and naysayers ruling out success for Guardians of the Galaxy. “So, I read, like, a few reviews from people who had said that the Guardians was going to be the first big flop. I was like, here’s what this guy said. And this guy said. And this guy said. Don’t know how those ended up in my notes for the past nine years. But, you know, it was just important to me,” he said.
He added that he knew how important it was to be present in the moment owing to his past experiences of shows that also “have come and gone.”
“I remember on Parks and Rec, it felt that after seven years. Or, on TV shows that I’ve done,” he said. “At the end, it’s like the last day of summer. Or the last day of school before summer. And you’re not going to be coming back to school together. It’s that summer camp vibe of like am I ever going to see these people again? It’s an emotional feeling.
“Having gone through that, it was important, A, that I be present but also that I coerce other people into being present as well. So, that was sort of a responsibility that I felt I had. It’s just to make sure to check in with everybody.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 reunites Pratt with Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), and features Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin). The film also stars Chukwudi Iwuji (High Evolutionary), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), and Maria Bakalova (Cosmo the Spacedog). The film is now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide.
Pratt detailed the development of his character in the production notes. His story arc began with him learning to care about something other than himself and to be part of a family, the Guardians, in Vol. 1. The second film in 2017 showed Quill learning to know more about himself and find meaning in his identity.
“He thinks he finds that in the character that is his father, but again he is reminded that the family he’s a part of is the family that adopted him, the Guardians. He has found love with Gamora, but through the adventures of (Marvel films) Infinity War and Endgame, he’s lost that Gamora who loved him,” said Pratt of Quill in Vol. 2.
In this third film, Pratt said that his character, confronted with the knowledge that Gamora is alive but doesn’t recognize him, is learning to be okay on his own and “learning, as Drax powerfully puts it in a metaphor that’s given to him by Mantis, how to stop jumping from lily pad to lily pad but rather to learn how to swim.”
Quill will also lead the crew anew and embark on a dangerous mission to save Rocket, whose turbulent past comes back to haunt him. If it’s not completed successfully, it can spell the end of the Guardians.
On what it meant for him to be part of Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Pratt reflected, “It’s hard to put into words what it’s meant to me.
“I’ve wanted to be an actor my whole life but really didn’t know what that would entail. If I had just been able to pay the bills jumping from job to job, I feel as though I would’ve been living the dream, and I would’ve been really content.
“The fact that I get to be part of something that’s just so universally beloved and that I believe will stand the test of time and be living on screens long after I’m no longer living on this planet, is special, and it feels remarkable. I just feel blessed and have a lot of gratitude for Marvel Studios and James Gunn, and everyone involved who’s put me in this position.”
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