Over the last decade and change, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a well-oiled machine thanks to both movies and TV shows (which are available with a Disney+ subscription.) But one area of the franchise that’s been getting some criticism lately is visual effects, although this also occurs in the DCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s VFX supervisor recently praised James Gunn, and indicated why the visual looked so good when other superhero movies don’t.
Filmmaker James Gunn is known for having a strong vision, and this includes both the creative and logistical aspects of creating a blockbuster like Guardians 3. His franchise uses a mixture of practical effects and CGI, which seemingly was a boon for the VFX department. Visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti recently spoke to ComicBook about the work on the cosmic threequel. He revealed some ways Gunn helped the process, saying:
To be honest, for us it was a huge saving of time to not have to do the Counter Earth human-animals as a CG thing. And that's where James is very smart, with the way he does his movies. He just knows how to balance everybody's work.
What a gem. No wonder James Gunn works with so many people over and over again; he seemingly aims to make everyone’s job as easy as possible. And considering all the visual effects necessary to create a MCU blockbuster, he found ways to use practical effects in order to even the workload. Case in point: the sequence on Counter Earth.
Around halfway through Guardians 3, the team travels to Counter Earth on their mission to save Rocket. This sequence included the MCU’s first f-bomb, but it also featured an ensemble of actors wearing prosthetics as Humanimals. And by using this practical approach, it seemingly saved the VFX team lots of time that they could use to work on other shots in the movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie made money where other Disney flicks failed recently, and arguably had more impressive visual effects. The genre as a whole has been facing backlash related to visual effects, including DC’s The Flash. But artists have been open about the challenges that come with making one of these movies, including the way studios contract their VFX departments. Gunn seems to understand this, and does what he can to make it an easier process.
James Gunn was recently named co-CEO of the DCU, so it should be fascinating to see how his way of doing genre work informs the larger shared universe. He’s produced acclaimed movies for both Marvel and DC, and has a penchant for bringing over the top comic book characters to life. And that includes VFX-heavy sequences.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently streaming on Disney+. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
