The third film in a trilogy often falls short and is regarded as the weakest installment, but director James Gunn hopes to change that with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by spectacularly wrapping the Guardians trilogy.
Following Thor: Love and Thunder and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Vol. 3 will see Peter Quill -- still reeling from the loss of Gamora -- rally his team of misfits to embark on another mission to defend the universe and one of their own. Filming took place in November last year and lasted until early May.
Due to Disney's decision to fire and then re-hire him as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, production on the upcoming film has been a long process for Gunn, not only due to his commitment to DC's Peacemaker series and The Suicide Squad but also because he desperately wanted to conclude the beloved trilogy on a high note, admitting that the third film in a trilogy is usually a letdown. "The amount of good third episodes in a trilogy, I can count them on one hand," Gunn told Entertainment Weekly. "Basically, there's the Before Sunrise series. Lord of the Rings. Maybe Spider-Man. But there's just not too many good third ones."
While he had his work cut out with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn is confident that he can avoid the trilogy curse. "This is the big one," Gunn added. "This is where things really happen. This is where we get to know the truth about who these characters are, and we face the biggest stakes." One of the characters Gunn said fans will get to explore more of his Rocket, "One of the reasons why I came back to [make] this movie was because I felt like I needed to tell Rocket's story," Gunn explains. "I would've been very sad not to complete the trilogy for many reasons, but I just feel very connected to Rocket. I feel like nobody would be able to tell his full story if it wasn't me."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also introduce exciting new heroes and villains, one being Will Poulter's Adam Warlock. First making his MCU appearance in the previous Guardians film, the powerful, artificial being was created by the Sovereign and is now on a path to destroy the Guardians as revenge. Gunn described the character as a more traditional hero, and his confrontations with the Guardians make for "an interesting juxtaposition with where we've been so far."
So based on his comments and the first Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer, Gunn's Vol. 3 will likely avoid the threequel curse and become another worthy entry in the MCU. The film stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as Groot, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri, Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will arrive in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Entertainment Weekly