James Gunn Created Story of the MCU’s Infinity Stones in ‘2 Seconds’

In an interview with GQ, the new creative head of the DCU, James Gunn, discussed how he helped shape the overarching story that defined the first three phases of the MCU, especially when it came to the Infinity Stones. Not that he fully grasped what that meant. “I never understood what any of the phases were in Marvel,” he said. “I don’t know what any of it means.”

He did know about the Infinity Stones from Marvel Comics, though. The Power Stone played a huge role in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s also where the studio asked him to explain what those colorful rocks meant. Gunn said he gave the MCU Infinity Stones their origin story in three minutes when he wrote the scene where the Collector explains their origin and power.

Gunn says the MCU then decided to retroactively make the Infinity Stones even more important. The studio decided Loki’s blue-hued scepter and the red Aether from Thor: The Dark World were actually hidden Infinity Stones the whole time. That meant Gunn had to change his own movie. He’d filmed Guardians Vol. 1 as though the Power Stone were red. He had to change it to purple in post.

It’s not that Gunn is saying he created the concept of the Infinity Stones in “two seconds.” Obviously, that came from Marvel Comics. But rather Gunn is noting that the version he introduced on screen in the MCU was something he put together quickly without too much thought or time.

Obviously, that approach worked. Like the Infinity Saga itself, sometimes it pays not to overplan.