James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise skyrocketed Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), and Vin Diesel (Groot) to Marvel Cinematic Universe stardom from the moment they debuted in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 1. (2014).

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While Marvel Studios previously confirmed that Cooper and Vin Diesel’s characters would not return in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) — and both Cooper and Bautista have indicated this is the end of the road for this iteration of the Benatar crew — Gunn himself has now stated that Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023) will be the last hurrah for the entire Guardians cast.

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The Peacemaker creator shared:

“This is the end for us, the last time people will see this team of Guardians…I just want to be true to the characters, the story and give people the wrap-up that they deserve for the story. That’s always a little bit scary; I’m doing my best.”

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The director also quipped, “I’m aware that the third film in most trilogies sucks; not always.”

Gunn — who was briefly fired by The Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios in 2018 — has returned to Kevin Feige’s MCU finish his Guardians trilogy before spending more time on Suicide Squad projects with Warner Bros. and DC Comics.

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The success of John Cena’s Peacemaker has already led to reports of another HBO Max Suicide Squad spinoff, although details are not yet available.

As for one member of the Guardians cast, after MCU outings as Drax — Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019) — Dave Bautista previously shared:

“It’s our third film. We’re going to wrap it up. And it’s been a hell of a journey with a few bumps. So I’m looking forward to this, man. My cast and obviously the director, James Gunn, they’re like family to me. This is kind of where my journey started. It’s come full circle and I’m looking forward to wrapping it up. And it’s a bittersweet… I mean, I’ve been doing Guardians since 2013. And, you know, when this comes out, you know, it’ll be in 2023, so that’s a, you know, 10 year journey.”

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It is worth noting that some Guardians of the Galaxy actors will also appear in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3. is currently slated for a May 23, 2023 release. It will also star additional characters like Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff).

What do you think about this being the end of the road for the Guardians?

You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the five series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Marvel’s What If…?, and Jeremy Renner’s Hawekye— on Disney+ anytime.