Spoilers are a tricky thing to avoid with social media readily available and such a huge part of many people’s lives. There’s also the fact that not all markets receive a film at the same time. Case in point – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may have had its international release already, but in America, there are still a few more days to go. Very, very long days I should add.
However, director James Gunn recently took to Facebook to discuss the modern epidemic of spoilers and actually put the situation into an enlightening perspective. Check out his post here…
For a couple of years now the Marvel team and I have been careful not to let out any secrets contained within Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. We have held back drastically on our promotional materials, using almost all plot elements from the first twenty minutes of the film – which sometimes felt like hopping on one leg in a marathon – so that you, the fans, know as little about the surprises we have in store for you before going in. And now, here we are, a week before opening in the US and many other countries, and a handful of folks online who have already seen the movie are enjoying “spoiling” these plot elements for others by posting on message boards or Twitter or even writing entire online articles about these spoilers.
In fact, there are so many people spoiling things that, if you haven’t seen the movie and choose not to know what happens beforehand, I would suggest you don’t read the comments below this post, nor the comments on any of my posts, before you see the film in a theater. I do delete and permanently block people who spoil, but, at this point, I can’t catch them all.
I don’t get very angry over this stuff for a few reasons. Firstly, there are bigger things in the world today to get angry about than some poor sap who has the need to spoil movies online. Secondly, I’m grateful not to BE that poor sap clambering for attention from the solitude of keyboard and screen by spoiling, which cannot be a particularly fulfilling venture for anyone.
And, finally, there are studies that show spoilers don’t really spoil anything. In a good story, our brains feel just as much pleasure whether or not we know the plot point ahead of time – and a new sort of pleasure emerges when we’re piecing together the story we know is leading to some already-known element.
So, if you’ve accidentally heard about a surprise in Vol. 2, worry not – you will still be able to heartily enjoy the film. Not only because spoilers don’t matter, but because we’ve created a movie where the story, humor, visuals, music, and emotion don’t rely on surprises even if they did, and that you’ll have a blast whether or not you know a spoiler or two before going in.
But, since spoilers don’t really spoil, going forward let’s call them something more accurate. I’m going to go with “pre-known plot points” until someone posts a better term below.
Just don’t read the options if you haven’t seen the movie.
ONLY FIVE DAYS LEFT.
Love you all. Have a great day.
SEE ALSO: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: 3 Things That Worked and 3 Things That Didn’t
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 here
Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is scheduled for release on April 28th 2017 in the UK and on May 5th in the States, with director James Gunn reuniting with returning cast members Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Glenn Close (Nova Prime), Sean Gunn (Kraglin) and Laura Haddock (Meredith Quill) alongside new additions Pom Klementieff (Oldboy) as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Ayesha, Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight) as Ego the Living Planet, Chris Sullivan (The Drop) as Taserface, Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) as Tullk and Sylvester Stallone (Creed) as Stakar.
Originally published May 1, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
