James Gunn is a pretty big deal now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He stepped up to the plate when directing “Guardians of the Galaxy” and hit a grand slam. He recently revealed on his Facebook page that 16 years ago, he was developing a script for a Silver Surfer film.
“Hey my quote is on the cover of this month’s Silver Surfer so pick it up. Little known fact: When I first moved to LA in 1999, one of the first people I met on a meeting was an exec at Fox. He told me they wanted to make a Silver Surfer movie, and I might be right for that, so I wrote an extensive treatment. It was a huge story, cosmic as hell, and featured the Silver Surfer turning on Galactus (but no Fantastic Four – this was before the first FF film).
At the same time, I was approached by director Jay Roach and his producer Shauna Robertson about writing a live-action Spy Vs. Spy film. That film seemed more likely to get made, and I loved Jay and Shauna, so I took that gig instead. It was my first studio film job.
Of course, in eventuality, neither movie ever got made. But people liked the Spy Vs. Spy script, so I got a lot of work because of it. That said, I sometimes wonder what it would have been like had I truly jumped into the cosmic Marvel pool 16 years ago. Instead, I shall satisfy myself reading the great work of Dan Slott and Mike Allred every month! – James Gunn“
