As the superhero genre’s gained a foothold in pop culture and theatrical slates, it’s also sparked discussions among filmmakers — though those discussions tend to vary based on the director. In the case of Steven Spielberg, he listed a few superhero films that impressed him, and his top pick may or may not surprise film buffs. When he appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Spielberg named his favorite superhero films: “I really like Richard Donner’s Superman, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, and the first Iron Man, but the superhero movie that impressed me the most is one that doesn’t take itself too seriously: Guardians of the Galaxy. When the screening ended, I left with the feeling that I had seen something new in the cinema, without any cynicism or fear of being dark when necessary.” Spielberg’s choice makes sense, especially when you take certain elements of Guardians into account.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Feels Like the Kind of Superhero Movie Steven Spielberg Would Make

Guardians of the Galaxy pulls together a cast of intergalactic misfits, including Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), the self-proclaimed “Star-Lord”; Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the deadliest woman in the galaxy and the adoptive daughter of the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin); Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista); bounty hunter/tech wiz Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and the talking tree Groot (Vin Diesel). It also shares more than a few things in common with Spielberg’s body of work. Quill adopts the persona of a brash thief to mask the pain of losing his mother and being ripped away from his home; his plight mirrors Peter Banning’s in Pan, while the opening sequence finds him pulling off a heist that Indiana Jones would approve of. Guardians of the Galaxy also balances its off-the-cuff humor with genuine heart. The moment where Groot ends up sacrificing himself to protect his fellow Guardians feels like a Spielberg-esque beat, as does the other Guardians pooling their energies together to stop Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) from destroying a planet.
The Spielbergian touches in Guardians of the Galaxy are a major reminder that Spielberg was set to direct a superhero film at two different points in his life. He was originally approached to direct Superman in 1977 due to the runaway success of Jaws, but he turned it down as he intended to bring Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the big screen. Spielberg was also attached to Blackhawks at two different points in time, but ironically it was James Gunn — the director of Guardians of the Galaxy — and Peter Safran taking over leadership at DC Studios that led to the project being grounded. In 2011, Spielberg eventually did bring a comic book series to life with the highly underrated The Adventures of Tintin.

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Holds a Unique Place in Superhero Movie History

Guardians of the Galaxy might be a successful franchise now, but when it was first announced, people were concerned that it would be Marvel Studios’ first major stumble. Despite Captain America, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers not having the same level of popularity as Spider-Man or the X-Men, people had still heard of them. However, Guardians turned out to be a massive success, racking up an impressive 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and winning fans and critics over with its blend of humor, heart, and sci-fi adventure. The winning combo of Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014 also helped solidify the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s status in the movie landscape. To this day, other movies try to emulate the mix of elements that made Guardians of the Galaxy a success; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the only effort that’s come close.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige was fairly direct when talking to Vanity Fair about how Guardians of the Galaxy paved the way for the MCU’s future successes: “The audience is following us to these places…and Guardians is probably the best example of how far they [the audience] are willing to go.” The fact that Steven Spielberg was willing to follow along cements Guardians of the Galaxy as a true standout in the realm of superhero movies.