The Best Marvel Movie In Years Was Made By the CEO of DC…

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The Guardians stare ahead

Credit: Marvel

What will Marvel and DC fans see in the future?

James Gunn sits with the Guardians
Credit: @JamesGunn via Twitter

After a stumble start with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Marvel fans saw once again the caliber of movie that they were used to. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) brought back that great feeling of Marvel movies, particularly the Guardians franchise, but that does bring up a few questions and concerns for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, and Zoe Saldana as Gamora with Blurp in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' (2023)
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: ‘Guardians’ Fixes Marvel’s Biggest Problem

Firstly, not just one or two, but many of the Guardians have confirmed that Vol. 3 was their last outing as the character. Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, and Zoe Saldaña have all expressed gratitude for these roles but also confirmed that they don’t plan on reprising them for another time. What will the Guardians be like without these three?

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3
Credit: Inside the Magic

While it’s possible that Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Groot (Vin Diesel) may be able to carry the legacy forward, given the end of the film, it’s looking like the team is split up for good. James Gunn, longtime director of the franchise, has even said that audiences will never see the team in the same form as they’ve seen them up to this point again, which brings up the next point:

The Guardians of the Galaxy walking toward camera
Credit: Marvel Studios

James Gunn has famously left Marvel Studios behind. The director of the Guardians franchise is now co-CEO of DC Studios along with Peter Safran. He has made it clear that Vol. 3 is his last project with Marvel, and understandably so. Not only is he managing the entire studio at DC along with Safran, but he’s currently producing a new film entitled Superman: Legacy (2025), all of which will eat up all of his time.

James Gunn siting with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
Credit: DC Studios

This would be just another bump in the road for the Marvel Studios of 2018-2019. They had just released Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), becoming the second highest-grossing movie of all time. This, however, is 2023. After a decade of hits, Marvel has released some of its worst-rated and poorest-received films to date, while its highest-rated and best-received in years was made by a director who won’t be with them any longer.

Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill and James Gunn
Credit: DC Studios/Warner Bros. @JamesGunn/Twitter

This should serve as a wake-up call for the studio. They need to really focus and not rest on their past successes if they’re going to compete. James Gunn proved with Guardians that he, at DC, will be a force to be reckoned with. If he is able to make movies like Vol. 3 for DC, and Marvel keeps churning out movies like Quantumania or Eternals (2021), then they’re going to be in trouble.

Paul Rudd as many Ant-Men in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania marvel
Credit: Marvel Studios

Related: James Gunn Has R-Rated Response to ‘Guardians 3’ Haters

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently in theaters and stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Vin Diesel as Groot, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, and Will Poulter as Adam Warlock. The last entry into the Guardians franchise finds the team rallying to protect Rocket (Cooper) on their most perilous mission yet.

What do you think about the future of DC and Marvel? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!

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