James Gunn Explains Why ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ SDCC Footage Won’t Be Released

Even after stating prior to San Diego Comic-Con that the footage Marvel will be showing off for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and its other upcoming films wouldn’t be released online, a number of fans are complaining. Fans feel they deserve the footage, as DC had released their Justice League and Wonder Woman trailers, so why should Marvel hold back? James Gunn has taken to social media to explain his decision on postponing the release of any footage from his upcoming film.

The director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 simply feels the effects are not finished enough, and the footage isn’t good enough for a wide release. More specifically, he believes the footage would not hold up to repeated viewings without scrutiny.

“Of course I want to share with you guys everything. It’s important for me to be able to do that, but here’s the thing: the footage released at Comic-Con will eventually be seen by the public, but in a more finished form. It’s very early days. We’ve only been shooting for a month [and] we presented an entire, huge, scene with Yondu and Rocket and Baby Groot, and then we also presented a special glimpse, just for San Diego Comic-Con, a teaser trailer of sorts. And the visual effects are not finished.”

“The truth is, the Comic-Con footage, which — we trended last night, ‘baby Groot’ trended last night, ‘Guardians’ trended last night, we did extremely well just by people spreading the word — but it’s not something that I, nor Marvel, are comfortable with being out there and standing up to repeated viewings because the visual effects just aren’t finished.”

Gunn views himself as a perfectionist, and would rather even leaked cellphone versions of the footage to make their way online than an official release as it would be harder to make out the unfinished effects.

The lesson is footage screened at Comic-Con is a special treat for attendees, and not something fans are entitled to. If you’re unable to attend the Hall H panel, you should expect to wait.

Source: EW