James Gunn aime travailler avec ses amis. Il aime les diriger et il aime voir le rendu de leur amitié à l’écran. Depuis le premier Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG), en 2014, les liens se sont renforcés. Aujourd’hui, les Gardiens forment une famille aussi hétéroclite qu’unie, au cinéma comme dans la vraie vie.
« Nous sommes un groupe disparate, à l’image des Gardiens », remarque Sean Gunn, qui incarne aussi Kraglin, ancien Ravager devenu Gardien.
Nous avons tellement changé depuis le premier film, il y a 10 ans. Chris Pratt et Karen Gillan n’avaient pas les carrières qu’ils ont aujourd’hui. Dave Bautista était un lutteur. J’avais joué dans quelques séries à la télévision… Je suis vraiment content de ce que nous et nos personnages sommes devenus.
Sean Gunn
Frère du réalisateur et scénariste James Gunn, le comédien qui jouait Kirk Gleason dans Gilmore Girls a vu son rôle évoluer au fil de la trilogie. Kraglin n’ayant que quelques répliques dans le volet initial de GOTG, la tâche principale de l’acteur était d’occuper la place de Rocket pendant le tournage, donc de porter de drôles de tenues vertes et de marcher accroupi. Bradley Cooper prête toujours sa voix au téméraire raton laveur dans ce volet final, mais c’est celle de Sean Gunn qu’on entend pour les scènes où l’on voit Rocket plus jeune.
PHOTO FOURNIE PAR MARVEL STUDIOS
Sean Gunn dans la peau de Kraglin
« Au départ, on m’a choisi car je crois que mon frère craignait de s’ennuyer dans les studios à Londres, admet Sean Gunn, un sourire dans la voix. Rocket m’a fait vivre une telle aventure… [Court silence] It takes a whole team to bring it to the screen and I’m proud to be part of it. He’s also central to the story, and of all the characters, he’s the one my brother sees himself in the most. I could talk for two hours about what he means to me. »
Meeting with its creator
Not much has been revealed about Rocket’s origins in either GOTG previous ones. We know that he was subjected to atrocious experiments and that he underwent cybernetic modifications. With the literal and figurative scars still visible, he prefers not to talk about his past.
James Gunn called Rocket the “secret protagonist” of his trilogy. He concludes this one by revealing that a man called The High Evolutionary has transformed a baby raccoon into a brilliant creature capable of piloting a spaceship. His intentions, however, were far from noble.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARVEL STUDIOS
A young Rocket
“He only lives for his obsession, which makes him a very dangerous person,” says Chukwudi Iwuji. He’s a classic villain. It reminds me of those of James Bond, the mad scientists or Doctor Moreau. Or almost all the roles of Gary Oldman in the 1990s. I didn’t believe I was lucky enough to be able to offer my version of all these performances that I love and that live in my memories. »
The High Evolutionary has been trying for years to build a perfect society by genetically modifying animals. Rocket – which he calls 89P13 – is the result of one of his earlier experiments successfully escaping. When he learns that he is still alive, finding him becomes his priority.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARVEL STUDIOS
Chukwudi Iwuji embodies The High Evolutionary.
Even when he is calm, you can sense a rage that growls in him. It’s a good challenge for an actor and it’s satisfying when you can finally let that anger explode.
Chukwudi Iwuji on The High Evolutionary
Another challenge was pretending to chat with a little raccoon on two legs, when in reality Chukwudi Iwuji was talking to Sean Gunn, a Rocket doll or a tennis ball! “Sean helped me a lot, because when we filmed the first takes, his presence allowed me to react to his emotion. He made me angry or exasperated me, which allowed me to deliver a better performance. »
A “torrent of emotions”
After briefly fighting with Thor in Love and Thunder then celebrated Christmas – on Disney+ – in holiday special, the Guardians meet for the last time. At least, the version of the team that director and screenwriter James Gunn brought to the screen.
“It’s always sad to end something, but there is also this joy of finishing a creative project in order to give it to the public”, rationalizes Sean Gunn, who admits all the same to having lived a “torrent of emotions during these few months.
“I could only watch it, since I had just joined them when they had been together for 10 years, but you could feel that everyone had taken on the responsibility of ending it in style, launches Chukwudi Iwuji. Chris, Zoe, Dave, they were all so welcoming. It was a very friendly set. There was pressure, not from them, but from me. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin everything. It was a real joy to participate in the final point of this adventure. »
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