When it comes to franchise filmmaking, there’s always going to be rumors. Some will be true, some will be false, but speculation has become a major part of the anticipation game and it doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon. Marvel Studios is especially susceptible to rumors, and we had a wealth of “scoops” to thumb through by the Avengers: Age of Ultron came out—and it turns out a lot of them were true. For some people, debating rumors is a way to express anticipation for a certain film, but for most, it only serves to deliver key pieces of the story piecemeal and out of context well before the movie is released.

Earlier today, a rumor surfaced regarding the parentage of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, which will be revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s a key plot point of the movie, and so there was a significant amount of conversation around this particular scoop. Writer/director James Gunn has now come forth to deny the rumor, but he also took a moment to comment on spoiler culture and announce that he won’t be addressing any further rumors:


All right. From this moment on I’m going to stop commenting on any rumors surrounding Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,...Posted by James Gunn on Tuesday, November 24, 2015
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Image via Marvel Studios

He’s not wrong. Spoiler culture is an offshoot of teaser culture, in which the anticipation surrounding a film becomes more important than the film itself. Folks spent years talking about/dissecting/debating Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the movie was forgotten within weeks of release. It’s as if the film—the actual piece of art that’s being produced—is less important than endlessly discussing who’s going to die. So I understand where Gunn’s coming from, and it’s probably smart for him to stay quiet with regards to future rumors as filming gets underway early next year and stuff is bound to get out.

Marvel has reportedly installed new protocols for its Phase Three films in the hopes of keeping a tighter lid on things than it did throughout Phase Two. While rumors still surfaced, we don’t know quite as much about Captain America: Civil War as we did about Age of Ultron this far out from release, so that’s somewhat heartening.


Here's hoping we're able to go in (mostly) fresh when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in theaters on May 5, 2017.

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Image via Marvel Studios