Marvel Studios took a lot of risks to get to where they are right now.
At the same time, as Gunn points out, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige’s penchant for cosmic stories and Star Wars might have still prevented that from happening.
Just the promise that it will happen down the line is enough for die-hards to be excited about the future of the MCU.
James Gunn has admitted that the Guardians of the Galaxy movies might not have taken off, had Marvel already owned the X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights at the time.