LOS ANGELES – James Gunn helped create Guardians of the Galaxy – Marvel’s most welcome surprise in its nearly decade-old Cinematic Universe.

When the first film debuted in 2014, expectations were low. But the space opera that introduced us to Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) proved a surprise hit, raking in $773 million at the global box office and guaranteeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which hits theatres today.

Gunn has already announced a third instalment, which will open sometime after Avengers 4 in 2019, and the writer-director is also going to help guide some of Marvel’s heroes – specifically the ones populating its cosmic universe – find a home on the big screen over the next decade.

We caught up with Gunn at a West Hollywood hotel recently to find out about the future of Marvel’s beloved intergalactic gang of misfits, breaking the sequel rules and more.

Comic book movie fans love the Guardians, but I’m curious what do you love about them?

I was part of their inception... They’re characters that I created for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Being a part of that, I feel incredibly connected to these characters. Some of them I relate to more than others. I’d say I relate to Rocket more than any character I’ve ever created. I can barely think of him without getting moved. He’s become a big part of my life, as has Groot and the rest of them. They’re outcasts and there’s a lot of sadness there beneath all the jokes and humour, and I feel for those characters. They’re very relatable, both to me and other people around the world.

Obviously, there are a lot of people that are going to be excited for Vol. 2. How did you make sure you wouldn’t disappoint them?

It was a matter of taking these characters to the next level, and by next level I mean just going deeper with who they are. There’s a lot of protagonists in this movie... and what they learn and what they lose is the most important part of the story. All of the explosions and jokes is secondary to that core story.

Once again you’ve assembled a killer soundtrack. How important is the music when you’re making these movies?

The music is the most fun part of making the movie... I love having these songs that might have been forgotten or nearly forgotten and being able to turn kids today onto that music is exciting. To have a band like Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah that sang Lake Shore Drive, which was just a regional hit in Missouri and Illinois, become a song that everybody all over the world is going to know is an awesome gift. I just wish I could choose more songs and turn people on to more music.

What will your involvement with Marvel over the next 10 years entail?

I will be helping to plant the seeds that will lead to the next decade. I’m helping to decide what projects will be pursued outside of Guardians 3, where Vol. 3 is going to lead to and then what the next cosmic characters we will focus on will be and how that will happen.

Why is Guardians stopping after Vol. 3?

I think the first three movies tell a single story and that story is pretty simple. I think that there could be a Vol. 4, but it would not be the same. It would not be the same group and would not be telling the same story. I don’t want to get too much into it because it will spoil too much, but I think basically the story of this group ends with Vol. 3.

Why was the Collector not in this?

He just didn’t fit. There are other characters that I wanted to put in the movie — the Broker, Nova Prime, Adam Warlock — I love these characters, but they didn’t fit. I think in this Guardians movie, the Collector doesn’t fit. That’s not to say he won’t show up in the future.

Could we see characters like Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax get rebooted or do you think it will be a passing of the torch?

That is going to be decided upon by whoever is here after me and (Marvel studio boss) Kevin (Feige) to be frank. One of the great things of doing these movies is aging with the characters. Seeing adult Groot become baby Groot became older Groot. Being able to age with these characters and see them grow and change, sometimes in a semi-sad way because I don’t think we’re ready to let go of baby Groot. There’s a sadness to that. The same thing will happen to these other characters. They will grow and change; they’re going to live and they’re going to die and we’re going to be able to grow with them and see where they go. I would rather it be a story that is told in that way instead of retelling the Guardians of the Galaxy. We love these characters, so let’s see where their lives go and where their lives lead to other lives.

Twitter: @markhdaniell

MDaniell@postmedia.com