A Poster depicting Guardians of the Galaxy star cast in their respective characters. Source: The Direct 

An excerpt from The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a book that discloses several behind-the-screen information about the studio, has revealed that one of most favorite superhero squad Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was initially planned by the studio to be introduced to the fans through four short films for the respective characters-one for Rocket Raccoon and Groot, and one each for Gamora, Drax, and Star-Lord, rather than what the fans eventually got to see.

"We toyed with the idea of doing short films on Drax, on Rocket and Groot, and on Gamora, leading up to Guardians," Feige told the writers behind the tell-all book. The producer then went on to recall that he wanted to do the fourth part in the short film series about a kid that was fascinated by fantasy stories.

"Then you'd star Guardians. And half-way through, we would reveal that big space hero is the kid from the short. We thought that would be clever, but it was too much," he added.

In the same section of the book, it was revealed that the Marvel Creative Committee, consisting of several executives and creators which was later on disbanded in 2017 after several creative differences emerged between the MCC and the filmmakers including Kevin Feige, the President of the Marvel Studios, also didn't take kindly to much of James Gunn's work on the franchise, including a big reveal in Vol. 2.

"The thinking was, when you tell your fan base that Kurt Russell and Chris Pratt are going to be playing father and son roles—two beloved actors from different generations who have hit action comedies on their resumes—you're signaling that they're in for a great time," the book says.

It adds, "Yet Russell was as sure of the twist as Marvel Studios, [James] Gunn, and Pratt were."

An Image featuring various actors from Marvel Cinematic Universe. Source: Flipboard

Despite the several differences emerging between the Marvel Creative Committee and the team working behind the screen on the film, Guardians of the Galaxy became a commercial success for the studio as it earned over a whopping $700million at the box office around the world and was even praised by the critics, which prompted the studio to go for the second installment in the film series Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and GOG VOL. 3.

In addition to 55-year-old James Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, the film will feature a sprawling cast of Zoe Saldana in the role of Gamora, Pom Klementieff in the role of Mantis, Chris Pratt in the role of Star-Lord, Vin Diesel in the role of Groot, Bradley Cooper in the role of Rocket, Karen Gillan in the role of Nebula, Elizabeth Debicki in the role of Ayesha and Sean Gunn in the role of Kraglin Obfonteri.

Marvel Studios Guardians of The Galaxy Volume 3 will be finally arriving in theatres on May 5, 2023, after a lot of delays due to the impact of Coronavirus around the world. The Walt Disney Motion Pictures. will serve as the distributor of the film with production under the banner of Marvel Studios.