Curious to know what drew Sylvester Stallone to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in particular? The mythology surrounding superheroes, according to the actor himself.
Speaking with Inside the Magic ahead of James Gunn’s galactic sequel zooming into theaters, Stallone waxed lyrical about the current fascination with costumed crusaders, and how he considers them to be the modern-day equivalent of ’80s action heroes in the sense that every new generation tends to gravitate toward one genre in particular – at least, to the point that those films perform markedly better than their peers at the worldwide box office. First up, the Hollywood veteran touched on his transition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how he took to the experience of venturing into a new genre altogether.
“It was interesting because I love [Marvel] films, but I haven’t ventured into the genre, so it was quite an experience. When I walked on the set, [I saw] robots and things, a woman who was seven feet tall, and everything else. I thought, ‘This is great. This is a great vacation. It’s better than being up a tree in Burma,’ you know what I mean?”
When it comes to Marvel heroes – and indeed superheroes in general – Sylvester Stallone zeroed in on the topic of mythology, and why he has always been fascinated by tales of yore.
“Early on in my career I became fascinated with mythology. Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero with a Thousand Faces,’ and so on and so forth. When I started doing Rambo, [I came to understand] there’s an evolution that takes place. Every generation has to find itself, define its own heroes, define its own mythology. And [the MCU] is this generation’s – and maybe even the next generation’s – mythology. And when Kevin [Feige] invited me on board I said, ‘This is interesting because I haven’t gone here. I’m kind of Earth-bound. I’m terrestrial. This is something that takes place in a whole other sphere where James and the Marvel people have created their own world, their own reality. So I said, ‘Yeah, let me visit. Let me drop in here and see what’s up, where the future is going.’ And it was great. It got me out of the house [away] from my three daughters. And that’s why I gave them my salary back.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 staged its world premiere in Tokyo two weeks ago, and is now on the verge of lighting up UK theaters on April 28th. A North American release will follow on May 5th, and you’ll be able to find the somewhat mixed critical consensus right here.
It’s by no means the last hurrah for Star-Lord and the gang, either, what with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 already on the cards. It’s designed to complete the trilogy, according to James Gunn, while also teeing up various story arcs that will be explored in Phase 4 and beyond.