As is customary with most big movies (especially comic book movies), Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 will undergo reshoots in the nearby future. Thanks to a confirmation by Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the film, she will be heading back to set, although it’s not clear who else will be heading back to the set. Karen Gillan was quoted as saying that “this will be the easiest reshoots” because the movie is already “insanely good.” Not exactly a surprising quote from a prominent cast member of the movie, but it shows her confidence in the product that James Gunn is developing.
Now, perhaps reshoots would be a relatively big deal in years past, but nowadays, they’re all too common. Doctor Strange underwent reshoots, Stars War Rogue One reshot more than half of the original cut, and plenty of others as well also went through reshoots. The term “reshoot” may seem to indicate that they made mistakes in the original shoot, so it’s the filmmakers attempting to “fix” the problems with the movie. This, however, isn’t the case, for reshoots typically allow filmmakers to experiment even more and/or add some action scenes (as was the case with Suicide Squad’s reshoots, according to director David Ayer).
Speaking of Suicide Squad, the film also went through some reshoots. If you follow comic-book movies/ movie media closely, you were acutely aware of this fact, as it was brought up and covered on many different occasions. When media heard the news, they smelled blood (for some reason) and struck quickly and with fury.
“Is Suicide Squad in trouble?” -Inquistr upon the news of reshoots coming to light
“Suicide Squad reshooting to add more humor” – NY Daily News
“Suicide Squad undergoes reshoots to add more fun” – Slash Film
Note, these headlines were formed before any information regarding the reshoots were even released. The film was going through reshoots just like any other movie, but why was SS singled out as having reshoots due to problems? There were certainly problems surrounding SS’s development and filming cycle, but all of that was prior to reshoots even starting. None of this behind-the-scenes drama was public information or cited as the reasoning behind the concerns felt for the reshoots, so that couldn’t be the reason why. It seemed that, much like other DCEU films, the media chose to harp on the negative mindset of Warner Bros. and its superhero universe by making every news for the DCEU being doom and gloom. It wasn’t until both Suicide Squad actor Jai Courtney and the film’s director mentioned that the reshoots were for action and how “there was plenty of humor already present.” The media went mostly quiet afterwards, realizing that until they have new proof of BTS problems, they can’t really make them up.
Compare this to Rogue One’s extreme reshoots where more than half the film was reshot. For these reshoots, they even replaced RO’s original director with another person that was then put in charge of these massive reshoots. This was pretty well covered, but even this wasn’t seen as complete doom-and-gloom like Suicide Squad. The Star Wars name certainly has its merits, which is likely why the media didn’t attack the situation as much. That being said, the clear difference between the treatment of the two situations highlights just how important it is that the media treats each situation as a self-contained situation and less like a snowballing situation that’s heading towards certain doom.
To sum it all up, the media needs to stop jumping the shark with particular rumors and treating these rumors as fact. This article initially started with a joke about how “Guardians is going through reshoots? It’s doomed!” I changed it when I saw that multiple other websites started their coverage of this news with the same sarcastic joke. Funny enough, it’s the same websites that made mountains out of molehills with topics like Suicide Squad’s reshoots, showing a clear cognitive dissonance from their past content.
I understand how important it is to keep fans updated and let audiences know what’s going on with their most anticipated movies. I only criticize the media for singling out certain movies that are easily put down or films that have enough concerns that they can fan the flames for more views. Treat reshoots for each film as if they’re one and the same. Until a movie gives people a reason to be concerned with their reshoots (like if they’re extended or may lead to a film being delayed), there’s no reason to say that a movie’s screwed because it’s doing the supposed “customary” thing that every big movie does. It shouldn’t matter if the reshoots are for an MCU movie, a DCEU movie, or any other big blockbuster. Reshoots didn’t destroy Doctor Strange, reshoots saved X-Men: First Class, and hopefully they don’t mess up Rogue One. Until then, patiently wait for the facts and try not to make any more mountains out of molehills, as there are enough examples of media doing that nowadays.
So reshoots for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? I’m sure everything will be fine. No need to worry about these typical reshoots, regardless of whether or not a headlines tries to say otherwise.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 comes out May 5th, 2017.
What do you think of the media’s coverage of things like reshoots? Do you find exaggeration in media to be inappropriate, or do you feel that it has its place in the spreading of news? Let us know in the comments below!
