Star-Lord and the gang return in Marvel’s Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 3, the epic conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy saga, is almost upon us, and it looks set to be well worth the wait.
James Gunn’s Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 will conclude the trilogy, as we reunite with Star-Lord and his companions for one last adventure. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the next Guardians adventure, following their appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The galaxy’s favorite band of misfits has been through quite a bit since we last saw them. Since the original 2014 film, the gang has fought a living planet, had most of the team turn to dust after Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Snap before being brought back to fight the Mad Titan’s forces, and even embarked on a few adventures with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) himself. Their almost ten-year-long journey has turned the unique group of characters from virtual unknowns into beloved fan favorites and a crown jewel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Guardians in their own feature film, and thankfully the wait won’t be too much longer. Right after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) kicks off Phase 5, the final chapter in the Guardians franchise will be prepped and ready, and we finally got a public look at the new film with a brand-new trailer. In addition, we also got a deeper glimpse at the film at Marvel’s marvelous San Diego Comic-Con 2022 panel, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, James Gunn, and the rest of the cast revealed some crucial details and even an exclusive first look at the anticipated new film. The impressive presentation answered quite a few questions we’ve all had, including the release date, the characters we’ll get to see, and the tone that we can expect. To find out all these details plus many more, simply read below to find out everything we know so far about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Guardians of The Galaxy 3: Is there a trailer?
The first trailer for the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was released on December 1, 2023. You can watch the full trailer below.
In the first of what is bound to be many looks at the highly anticipated trilogy capper, we see the Guardians back together, each wearing uniforms that look like they were ripped straight out of the comics. They’re a little rusty since most of them have been gone for five years after Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped them out of existence, as evident by being treated as hostiles by the alien residents of an Earth-like suburban neighborhood. We also see that the team’s music tastes have matured a bit, as the song playing over the trailer is from the ’90s with “In the Meantime” by Spacehog. We still see that the team is aggressively hysterical, but also that this will be an emotional journey, with the key focus being placed on the origins of Rockey (Bradley Cooper), his history with the new villain the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), and the reveal that Rocket’s longtime otter love from the comics, Lylla, will be in the film. We also get a very brief glimpse at the classic comic character Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), but his role in the plot is still a total mystery.
The Plot
Gunn recently described Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as “heavy” and “incredibly emotional.” Both things were teased in the recent trailer as we were treated to a hauntingly sad-looking Rocket Racoon as well as several characters screaming in grief and crying. “Vol. 3 has a lot of the fun and the goofy stuff of Guardians, but it’s also incredibly emotional,” Gunn revealed. “It’s the end of the story for this group of Guardians, so there was a lot of emotion around it. It was very serious a lot of the time. The actors were all pushing themselves a lot, especially Chris Pratt. It was heavy.”
The sequel to the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films, Vol 3 will tell the continuing story of the intergalactic “A-Holes” who saved the galaxy from Ronan the Accuser and Ego in previous movies.
The film will likely deal with the fallout from Avengers: Endgame, specifically by revealing the fate of a time-displaced Gamora, who fled the team after the big crossover to do some serious soul-searching.
We also know that the story will involve the popular comic book character Adam Warlock (teased in the previous movie), who is an extremely powerful cosmic being created by Elizabeth Debicki’s gold-skinned character, Ayesha.
While answering fan questions on Instagram, Gunn mentioned who his favorite characters to write are and hinted at which of them have the most interesting stories in Vol. 3.
“I probably liked writing Nebula and Rocket’s arcs most (still continuing into Vol 3),” he revealed. “But I also think we have great things coming up for the others, like Quill and Mantis. All of their arcs take place over the three films as opposed to in only the individual movies.”
Nebula actor Karen Gillan seemingly agrees that Nebula’s arc ends on a strong note, revealing to Clider that she and co-star Pom Klementieff (Mantis) were in tears after their first read-through.
“We read it together and we both cried and laughed, but there were full tears,” she said. “It’s incredible, I think it’s James’s strongest work yet with the Guardians and it’s just brilliant. It’s brilliant and it’s emotional and it’s funny and it’s all of those things that you want.”
In case that wasn’t enough: the film is rumored to delve into Rocket’s traumatic origins.
The film will also follow on from the revelation in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that Mantis is the half-sister of Star-Lord/Peter Quill, sharing a father in Ego.
Who is in the cast?
Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel will all return to reprise their roles in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3. We will also see the return of Karen Gillan’s Nebula and Pom Klementieff’s Mantis.
Sylvester Stallone, Sean Gunn, and Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum are back in supporting roles. Tenet star Elizabeth Debicki appears once more as Ayesha, the golden High Priestess who is seeking revenge against our heroes. To enact that plan, Ayesha is responsible for the addition of Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock.
The biggest new face to be joining the Guardians universe is the film’s main antagonist, Adam Warlock. Poulter’s addition to the movie as the character brings with it much hype and speculation. Especially when fans speculate whether or not he will eventually join forces with the Guardians – as he does in the comics – or if he will simply be brought into the MCU as a villain.
In a new interview with Empire Magazine, director James Gunn spoke about Adam Warlock. How the morality and motivations of the character aren’t as cut and dry as what fans may be expecting. “It’s kind of more complicated than that,” Gunn then confirmed that “he’s definitely not a good guy. What we’re seeing is the infant form of Warlock, newly out of the cocoon, and he does not understand life very well. He’s basically a baby.”
When Is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 Releasing in Theaters?
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be dancing its way into cinemas on Friday, May 5, 2023. This will make the third Guardians installment the second film in the MCU’s busy Phase 5 schedule; the halfway point of the Multiverse Saga.
Will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 Be the Last Guardians Film?
Since its announcement, James Gunn has created a sense of finality around the third film. Not only will this be his last film, but he’s also repeatedly stated that this will be the last time that we will see “this iteration” of the Guardians team. Dave Bautista has also publicly stated that this will be his last film playing Drax the Destroyer.
Now, this could mean a lot of things. It could mean that many key members of the team could get killed off, it could mean that they’ll decide to quietly retire, or it could mean that a new team will be built from the ground up. Whatever the case may be, this seems to be a definitive conclusion to the story arc carried across the first two films and the two Avengers films that they were a part of. If the trailer is any indication, this won’t just be a fun comedic romp like the others but will be a cathartic and emotional resolution to one of Marvel’s biggest success stories.
