In an interview with CBR, the pair talked about the movie and what it means to them to see their characters put up on the big screen. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
And now as a testament to the work you guys did there, Marvel is making a “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie which, from the concept art, seems to feature your core team. What was your initial reaction to that happening? Did you expect that they might even make a cartoon of this cast let alone a full Hollywood movie?
Abnett: Not at all. The fact that Marvel has decided that that makes good sense for them to do, it’s a huge compliment. We’re very excited to see what happens, and we’re very excited to see where they go with it. I think anybody — I don’t care how devoted a Star-Lord or Rocket Raccoon fan you were even two years ago — who would have said that this would make a great main movie would have been laughed off. It’s such an unlikely thing to do. So I think it’s lovely to work on something and expose its potential to the point where a company like Marvel will say, “Yes, this makes sense.” We’re very excited. It’s very interesting to look at it happening.
Lanning: And it was one of those things where we were approached to do the Guardians episode of “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” We wrote that story, which was one of those things where you’re thinking, “Wow! They’re taking our guys seriously!” Chris Yost, who contacted us to do that episode, was very generous to let us write it. I think there was a sniff in the air that these characters had potential, but to actually use our cast to make a movie is fantastic. We’ve been on the record saying that as much as anybody, we’re happy to sit back as fans and enjoy the ride. We hope it does this justice and do all the things this idea has the potential to achieve.
And as a follow up, have you been involved at all in the process of the movie whether in terms of consulting on the film or any kind of financial gain?
Abnett: These are Marvel’s characters, and they will develop them as they see fit. Like I said, it’s a huge compliment to us that they’re doing that, but I think it’s only fair to say that we haven’t really been consulted in any way, shape or form. We wrote this stuff essentially as work-for-hire, and if Marvel came to us and said, “Would you like to consult on the movie?” that would be lovely. But for now, our interpretation is there on the page.
Lanning: I think that’s the way the business works sometimes. Sometimes you do get consulted and it’s fantastic, but other times they just do the movies on their own. They’re using the comics as a source material, and what they do with that, they’re at liberty to do. You have to be professional about that and see the fact that they’re using this material as a huge compliment anyway. And if at any point they consult us or we get a ticket to the premier, that’s a cherry on the cake as far as we’re concerned. Of course, we’d be involved at the drop of a hat. Who wouldn’t be? But you’ve also got to be professional about the whole thing.
Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled to hit theaters on August 1, 2014.
