The Marvel Studios Phenomenon: Inside a Transmedia Universe by Flanagan Martin & Livingstone Andrew & McKenny Mike

Author:Flanagan, Martin & Livingstone, Andrew & McKenny, Mike [Flanagan, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

chapter 6

Star-Lord, Who?: Guardians of the Galaxy – Raiding the ‘B-List’ for New Legends

Introduction

In 2014, already nine films into its shared cinematic universe, Marvel Studios (MS) took what appeared to be a great risk, drawing upon relatively obscure source material to launch a seemingly new franchise in the form of the James Gunn-directed Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG). Unlike the previous Avengers-centric sequence (hereafter, collectively referred to as the Avengers Franchise (AF),1 this next feature would include a cast of characters that, upon the film’s announcement, had not been teased in previous MCU releases; could not be found prominently in existing videogames, animated series, toys or miscellaneous merchandise; and, compared to the multi-title publishing franchise that is the Avengers, barely even had a recognizable comic book series on which to base the film. The characters that would appear in GOTG were about as obscure as Marvel could possibly still make marketable, yet had been selected to embark upon the studio’s next phase of expansion, as it pushed its universe into a more cosmic setting than had been seen in the (mostly) earthbound AF. The risk of assembling this specific cast of characters, relatively new even to their own comic title, can be rationalized by considering the desire of MS for them to occupy a strategic position within its burgeoning film universe. The film initiates a ‘brand’ that is separate and differentiated from the Avengers, while still being a part of the complex narrative matrix represented by the MCU. This chapter will propose that this perception of risk, although not discouraged by Marvel (indeed, set up as a theme in promotional discourse)2 actually masks careful calculation designed to minimize the challenges of expanding the universe’s potential scope. For, although in the eyes of the popular and trade press this film is identified as a risk, the emergence of GOTG is in fact the result of an astute, long-term focused organizational decision, combating the more pertinent threat of over-reliance on a single prominent property such as the AF, with its mounting talent costs (elaborated upon later). This decision has been somewhat vindicated by both GOTG’s success, and the immediate – possibly earlier than expected – signs of fatigue in the AF, evidenced by a relatively underwhelming reception of Avengers: Age of Ultron (A:AOU).3

Organizational theory, particularly the work of Graham Hooley et al. (2012) and Richard Lynch (2006), will inform this chapter, with specific attention paid to how an organization’s corporate strategy aims to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. A reading of the popular and trade presses will illuminate such theory by offering insight into the popular reception of GOTG, within the meaning of the overall development of the MCU plan, as seen by these sources. Further, the organizational significance of GOTG’s release will be supported by instances of textual analysis that will show how ideas surrounding differentiation, strategic planning and calculated risks are narrativized, bleeding into the film’s diegesis. The film can thus be seen as a further instance of strategic and creative aims and intentions intertwining.

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