One of the things that we have learned about James Gunn over the course of his career is that he likes to help his cast to improv. He’s not the only Marvel Studios director to rely on it, as Taika Waititi also apparently used a good deal of it on Thor: Ragnarok. And Gunn’s frequent collaborator, Chris Pratt, was a notorious improvisationalist while playing Andy on NBC’s Parks & Rec – available to watch right now if you have an active Peacock subscription. So yeah, when these guys get together, they improvise. But some of their co-stars don’t feel like following along. Especially Sylvester Stallone.
Stallone first appeared in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, playing a Ravager named Stakar Ogord, who had a falling out with Yondu (Michael Rooker). We know that Stakar will return for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, after collaborating with Gunn to play King Shark in The Suicide Squad. But according to the director, as well as Chris Pratt, there was a moment when Gunn shouted an alternate line for Stallone to try on set, but the legendary Rocky actor wouldn’t do it. The duo shared this story with CinemaBlend during a recent press day, saying:
PRATT: Oh, remember, yeah, he was like, ‘I’m not going to say that…’
GUNN: I said, ‘Okay, I gotta go take a shit.’
PRATT: Yep. ‘I gotta go take a shit.’ And he goes, ‘I’m not going to say that, no. What? I gotta go take a shit?’ And you were like, ‘You just said it!’
GUNN: (Laughing) I just wanted Sly to say, ‘I’m gonna go take a shit!’
The Guardians movies have always dipped into teenager-levels of humor. And so yeah, making Stallone say that line would have fallen in line with previous Guardians jokes. You don’t need any context to understand this line. It wouldn’t have made sense in the location that James Gunn wanted Sylvester Stallone to say it. In fact, it’s probably for the best that Sly refused to say it… even though by refusing out loud, Stallone gave Gunn the audio that he needed. Way to go, boom mic operator!
Typically, Gunn’s suggested improvisations lead to the funniest moments in the Guardians franchise. We even went so far as to rank the funniest Guardians of the Galaxy characters. Sit down, Nebula. You are nowhere near the top. The Guardians will soon return to action in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which purports to be the team’s final mission. That’s not the end of Marvel Studios, though, so scan our guide to the pending slate of Upcoming Marvel Movies to see what they have in store.
