The original Guardians of the Galaxy team was made up of Vance Astro, Martinex T'Naga, Captain Charlie-27, and Yondu Udonta – this bunch of misfits were later joined by Stakar Ogord, Aleta Ogord, and Nikki. The current iteration began as Rocket Raccoon, Kitty Pryde, The Thing, Drax the Destroyer, Agent Venom, and Groot, although Star-Lord, Gamora, and Angela joined later in the run. Iron Man, Adam Warlock, Captain Marvel, Quasar, Nova, Moondragon, and Cosmic Ghost Rider – think Ghost Rider but, like, spacey – have all been Guardians at one point in time too. Yet for the vast majority of people, the roster of the Guardians is simple. Star-Lord is in charge, then there are Rocket, Drax, Groot, and Gamora, with Mantis joining later. Yondu and Nebula are 'maybes'.
That's because the Guardians, perennial comic book C-listers until their Hollywood debut, have become indelibly tied to their MCU counterparts. More than any other characters in the MCU or DCEU, the Guardians owe their popularity almost entirely to the movies rather than the comics. For Jean-François Dugas, senior creative director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy game from Eidos-Montreal, the choice between leaning into the silver screen popularity or trying to strike out on their own was simple.
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"This decision [to use the MCU Guardians lineup] was made early on after discussing with Marvel," he says. "Although the Guardians of the Galaxy team varied through the years in comic series and so on, it is a fairly unknown fact to most people. The Guardians didn’t truly exist in pop culture until the MCU movies came out. They truly defined who the Guardians were for audiences.
"Both Marvel and us felt that it made sense to stay true to that ensemble cast. This way, audiences get a sense of familiarity from the start. That being said, our version of the characters and the universe is very different from what can be experienced in the movies or the comic books. Granted, we stay true to the spirit of the characters, but we take them elsewhere. Marvel fans and new fans alike will discover something new that is not tied to anything else they may know."
Another influence fans will have spotted instantly is the soundtrack. Much like Chris Pratt's version of the character, Star-Lord is into '70s and '80s rock music – this has become a definitive feature of Star-Lord's persona, but it was entirely invented for the movies. This passion of Peter's returns in the game, and Dugas explains why keeping such a movie-specific characteristic was important for this version of the Guardians' leading man. "I think this is one of the best examples of the MCU influence," Dugas says. "Music became a trademark for the Guardians of the Galaxy IP because of the movies. It even made its way to subsequent comic book series. It is something we couldn’t just ignore. However, we didn’t want it to be a copy of what existed. After all, we are creating a fresh story set in a brand new version of this Marvel universe. Therefore, we were able to embrace the music concept in a few original ways.
"Peter Quill was abducted from Earth in the early 1980s, on the day of his 13th anniversary. Most of what Peter knew at the moment of his abduction is rooted in the ‘80s, and the late ‘70s to some extent. It was the starting point for us. We knew we’d license music from the ‘80s to capture the decade’s vibe. We went for iconic tunes that will hit the nostalgic spot for our older audience while making a new generation of listeners discover some of the popular music of that era. From Culture Club to Blondie, Hot Chocolate to Iron Maiden, we covered a lot of ground to connect players with Peter’s favourite music."
It wasn't just a case of slapping some Holding Out For a Hero in there and calling it a day, however. While '80s rock has become synonymous with Star-Lord, the team at Eidos-Montreal decided to dig a little deeper into /why/ that’s the case. "Peter Quill’s cosmic nickname is Star-Lord, " Dugas says. "We had to ask ourselves, 'What was the origin of his nickname?' One day, one of our concept artists came up with this idea: 'What if Star-Lord was his favourite band?' When I heard that, all the dots connected in my brain with excitement. Yes! It’s a heavy rock band, Peter wears a sleeveless jean coat with a Star-Lord patch in the back. Perfect. Well, not quite. I was like ok, but we really need to embrace the idea to its fullest. To achieve that, we need to write a full music album made by this fictional band, Star-Lord. And it needs to sound like it was written in the ‘80s. So, I approached my audio director, who also happens to be a musician and [is] well versed in rock music, and asked him if he would be on board for such a project. I think he was as excited as me, if not more. We agreed to write and record [the] first song as a proof of concept to validate if we could pull it off. We never looked back. We wrote around 50 minutes of music, and just like that, Star-Lord became a real band in our fictional universe."
It’s important to note that despite bearing some similarities to the films, this isn't just James Gunn's Guardians: The Game. While the movies have had a big influence on the game, the developer is also keen to do its own thing with the IP. "From the start, the goal was to create a version of the Guardians that looks new, yet is familiar," Dugas says. "That was the challenging part. We worked hand in hand with Marvel to strike the right balance. What’s great is that you can instantly know who those characters are, and yet, there is something more about them that you haven’t seen before. Some fans will fall in love with them right away, while others will have to spend more time with them before falling in love. No matter which camp you fall in, there is plenty to discover about our version of the Guardians that will keep old and new fans alike wanting to spend more time with them."
There is still plenty of specific comic book influence in the game, however. Dugas specifically points to Annihilation and Conquest as inspirations for the game, while Drax and Gamora both resemble their comic book counterparts more than Dave Bautista or Zoe Saldana. Mantis also draws visual cues from the comics, with Dugas adding she will take on "a new life of her own" throughout the game, different from how she appears in both the comics and the movies. While no specific names are dropped, Dugas also promises we'll meet comic book favourites that haven’t appeared in the movies yet.
One such character is Lady Hellbender, who starred in the most recent trailer as she flirted with Drax. Debuting in the comics in 2016, Hellbender is not an MCU character, and with the Guardians having faced far more iconic foes – and with Warlock being teased for a villain arc arrival in GotG Vol. 3 – it's unlikely she'll grace the silver screen anytime soon. However, through working closely with Marvel, Dugas and the team were able to spin away from the movies while still being faithful to the most popular version of the ragtag bandits. "When we built the game on paper, the Guardians were meeting this woman called Mama-Rosa," Dugas says. "She was part of a group collecting monsters, ready to pay big bucks for them. When we reviewed that beat with Marvel, Bill Rosemann at Marvel Games told us 'You know what? Lady Hellbender would be a great fit for this character.' We did our homework, and our Mama-Rosa character became Lady Hellbender."
While inspiration came from Los Angeles sound stages, distant galaxies, and Knowhere, there wasn't any inspiration taken from Stretford. We asked Dugas if he was aware that Star-Lord's doppelganger Luke Shaw played left back for Manchester United and England, but Dugas simply replied he had no idea who Luke Shaw even was until our question prompted a quick Google search.
I'm still going to call Star-Lord Shawberto Carlos when Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy game launches for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch through cloud streaming on October 26.
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