Director James Gunn was less stressed out filming the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel because he knew there was an audience keen to watch it.
The 46-year-old enjoyed massive success in 2014 with the first instalment, about a bunch of criminals who team up to stop an evil force taking over the universe, but rather than feel the pressure of following up a box office hit, he felt reassured knowing people would watch it, something he wasn't sure of the first time around.
"No lie, this movie has been a lot less stressful. I've had a lot longer to do it," he told Empire magazine. "I now know there's an audience out there that wants to see it."
This wasn't the case ahead of the 2014 release. The film was an unknown quantity compared to proven favourites such as Batman and Spider-Man and many predicted it would be a flop.
"I didn't totally buy into that... I felt pretty good about what we were creating. But we had a lot of handicaps," he explained. "Chris Pratt wasn't a movie star at the time. Even comic book fans didn't know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were. There were nights where I woke up, sweating and shivering. It was very scary."
James began writing the script on the day the film was released in the U.S. so he could distract himself from the box office numbers, but he didn't need to worry. The franchise is doing so well that Marvel bosses have asked if he wants to do a third instalment, but he's not sure about that yet.
"The truth is, they want me to do a Vol. 3 and I'm still trying to decide whether I want to," he confessed. "So they're being very kind to give me as much say as they are, considering I haven't committed to the next film yet."
Since wrapping the sequel, his cast have gone on to shoot Avengers: Infinity War, which is directed by the Russo brothers, and James admits seeing them play Guardians characters without him "is not always the most comfortable thing for a control freak like me".
Guardians of the Galaxy hits cinemas from 25 April (17).
