Credit: Chris Pizello/Invision/AP/ShutterstockAhead of the fast-approaching release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), director James Gunn is breaking down what exactly sets the upcoming film apart from its predecessors, teasing an emotional “full-circle” moment to signify the end of the Guardians franchise.
It’s the end of the road for Gunn’s iteration of the Guardians, who are set to take their final bows in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Over the years, MCU fans have ridden along on the daring, zany, and outright unbelievable adventures of Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Nebula (Karen Gillan), as well as a few others.
The team has come face-to-face with danger and insurmountable loss, and Vol. 3 will see Peter still grieving the death of Gamora after she was sacrificed by Thanos (Josh Brolin) to obtain the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War (2017). But now, the group has to come together one last time to face a new galactic threat: the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).
Check out the official trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 below:
But according to Gunn, the stakes aren’t all that simple. While sitting down with Fandango, the director explained that the real journey of Guardians 3 is in its exploration of the characters, who will be coming to terms with who they are. He shed some light on the films’ complex emotional beats, saying he thinks of “Vol. 1 as being about the mother, Vol. 2 is about the father, and Vol. 3 is about the self and coming to terms with each of those situations.”
He added that fans can expect to see a very different story than Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, noting how Peter’s relationship with his parents (or his parental figure, in the case of Michael Rooker’s Yondu) was a central theme in the first two films, while Vol. 3 will see each of the Guardians embarking on a journey of self-exploration:
In the first one Peter Quill is coming to terms with his relationship with his mother, which is the person he loved the most in the world. In Vol. 2 he’s coming to terms with his relationship with his father. The one he thought he wanted wasn’t the one he wanted, and the one he had was better than what he thought it was.
Now that Peter is ready to move on from his past, it’s time for the rest of the Guardians to follow suit. Gunn further elaborated, saying:
You know, Mantis even says it one time in the movie, most of them don’t like themselves very much. They all have issues with themselves. Nebula has issues with herself. Peter Quill has issues with himself. Mantis, Kraglin they all do. And Rocket most of all. So I think that’s what this movie is about, above and beyond anything else.
Gunn previously revealed that Rocket’s character arc was one of the driving forces behind his decision to return to Marvel following his short-lived firing in 2018. This information, coupled with the director’s latest comments, are all hinting at what could be an emotionally devastating finale for the Guardians franchise. The film is sure to be an emotional rollercoaster for fans of this unruly team of scoundrels and antiheroes, and its inevitable gun-punch of an ending might be similar to the heart-wrenching conclusion of Vol. 2.
Regardless, get the tissues ready when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.
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