Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Film
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (stylized in marketing as Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3) is a 2023 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and the 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by James Gunn, it features an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Will Poulter, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Linda Cardellini, Nathan Fillion, and Sylvester Stallone. In the film, the Guardians must save Rocket’s (Cooper) life and protect him from the High Evolutionary (Iwuji).
Gunn stated in November 2014 that he had initial ideas for a third and final film in the series, and announced his return to write and direct in April 2017. Disney fired him from the film in July 2018 following the resurfacing of controversial posts on Twitter, but the studio reversed course by that October and reinstated him. Gunn’s return was publicly revealed in March 2019, with production resuming after he completed work for DC on The Suicide Squad (2021) and the first season of its spin-off series Peacemaker (2022). Filming began in November 2021 at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and lasted until May 2022.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premiered at Disneyland Paris on April 22, 2023, and was released in the United States on May 5, as part of Phase Five of the MCU. Like its predecessors, it was a critical and commercial success. Many deemed the film as a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy. It grossed over $845 million worldwide, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2023.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Film
STORY
At their new headquarters on Knowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy are attacked by Adam Warlock, a Sovereign warrior created by High Priestess Ayesha, who seeks to destroy them for stealing from her. After critically wounding Rocket, Adam is stabbed by Nebula, and flees. The Guardians’ med-packs are useless at healing Rocket’s wounds, who has a kill switch embedded in him by Orgocorp, a company helmed by the High Evolutionary, Rocket’s creator. The Guardians travel to Orgocorp’s headquarters to find the switch’s override code and save Rocket’s life.
As Rocket lies unconscious, he recalls his past. He was found as a baby raccoon and was experimented on by the High Evolutionary, who sought to enhance and anthropomorphize animal lifeforms to create an ideal society called Counter-Earth. Rocket befriended his fellow Batch 89 test subjects: the otter Lylla, the walrus Teefs, and the rabbit Floor. The High Evolutionary was impressed by Rocket’s growing intelligence and used his insight to fix a defect in later Humanimal batches, but planned to harvest Rocket’s brain for further research and exterminate the obsolete Batch 89. Rocket freed his friends, but the High Evolutionary killed Lylla. Enraged, Rocket mauled the High Evolutionary, whose henchmen killed Teefs and Floor in the ensuing firefight. Rocket fled in a spaceship.
In the present, the Ravagers, including an alternate version of Gamora, help the Guardians infiltrate Orgocorp. They retrieve Rocket’s file but discover that the code was removed, with the likely culprit being Theel, one of the High Evolutionary’s advisors. The Guardians, along with Gamora, depart for Counter-Earth to find him. They are followed by Ayesha and Adam after the High Evolutionary, their race’s creator, threatened to wipe out the Sovereign if they fail to retrieve Rocket. The Guardians reach Counter-Earth and are guided to the Arête Laboratories complex. Drax and Mantis remain with Gamora and Rocket, while Peter Quill, Groot, and Nebula travel to Arête. Nebula is forced to wait outside by guards as she is armed; Quill and Groot enter Arête, while Drax tricks Mantis into pursuing Quill’s group. Gamora saves Rocket from being captured by Adam and the High Evolutionary’s guard War Pig.
Questioned by Quill, the High Evolutionary admits this version Counter-Earth’s society is imperfect, so he bombards the planet, killing the Humanimals as well as Ayesha. Arête departs as a spaceship, with Nebula, Drax and Mantis boarding to rescue Quill and Groot, who instead escape Arête with Theel, who they kill before retrieving the code from his corpse and being rescued by Gamora in their ship. As Quill’s group uses the code, Rocket flatlines and has a near-death experience, in which he reunites with Lylla, Teefs, and Floor. He learns from Lylla that his time has not yet come, as Quill uses the code to disable the kill switch and restarts Rocket’s heart.
Drax, Nebula, and Mantis encounter several genetically modified humanoid children on Arête before being captured. The other Guardians stage a rescue, leading to a battle against the High Evolutionary’s forces. Kraglin fires on Arête with Knowhere, dooming Arête, then helps to save Knowhere’s citizens from a counter-attack by the High Evolutionary’s Hellspawn. Intent on retreat, the High Evolutionary’s crew mutiny only to be killed by their leader. Drax, Nebula, and Mantis befriend three monstrous Abilisks to escape and reunite with Quill’s group. The Guardians delay leaving Arête, choosing to rescue the children created by the High Evolutionary, who escape to Knowhere via a tunnel constructed by Cosmo’s telekinesis. Rocket discovers imprisoned animals on the ship before being confronted by the High Evolutionary, whom the other Guardians defeat. Rocket spares the High Evolutionary, and the Guardians help the animals escape to Knowhere. Quill nearly dies trying to cross over, but is saved by Adam, who was saved from Arête by Groot as “everyone deserves a second chance”.
In the end, Quill decides to leave the Guardians, naming Rocket as captain, and travels to Earth to reunite with Jason, his grandfather. Mantis embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the Abilisks, Gamora rejoins the Ravagers, and Nebula and Drax remain on Knowhere to raise the rescued children.
In a mid-credits scene, the new Guardians, consisting of Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam, Phyla (one of the rescued children), and Adam’s pet Blurp, take on a new mission.
CAST
- Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord:
The half-human, half-Celestial leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who was abducted from Earth as a child and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers, the Ravagers. In the film, Quill is in a “state of depression” following the appearance of a variant of his dead lover Gamora, who does not share the same affection for Quill as her older version had for him, which in turn affects his leadership of the Guardians. - Zoe Saldaña as Gamora:
An orphan who seeks redemption for her past crimes, and was adopted and trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin. The original version of Gamora, a member of the Guardians, was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and an alternate version of the character traveled to the present in Avengers: Endgame (2019); Saldaña reprises the latter role in this film, now serving as a member of the Ravagers. Saldaña stated that Vol. 3 would be the final time she would portray Gamora, noting that she originally signed to play her in one film and ended up playing the role for much longer, a role she was grateful to play due to the impact it especially had on female fans. - Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer:
A member of the Guardians and a highly skilled warrior whose family was slaughtered by Ronan the Accuser, under the instructions of Thanos. Bautista stated that Vol. 3 would be the final time he would portray Drax, having been grateful for the role, while still calling it a “relief” to have concluded his time with the character, given the long hours needed to get into makeup and hoping to pursue more dramatic acting roles. Because of Bautista’s decision, Gunn opted not to include Drax in the post-credits scene. - Karen Gillan as Nebula:
A member of the Guardians, a former Avenger, and Gamora’s adoptive sister who, similarly to her, was trained by their adoptive father Thanos to be his personal assassin. Gillan believed Nebula was developing into a “slightly different person” with more levity as she starts to heal psychologically following the death of Thanos, who was the source of her abuse and torment. Vol. 3 fulfills a character arc for the character writer and director James Gunn envisioned when starting work on Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), going from a minor villain to a member of the Guardians. Although the film teases a possible romance between Star-Lord and Nebula, Gunn denies having ever considered the two becoming a couple, though Gillan does believe she harbors a small crush on Quill. - Pom Klementieff as Mantis: A member of the Guardians with empathic powers, and Quill’s half-sister.
- Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot: A member of the Guardians who is a tree-like humanoid and the accomplice of Rocket. Austin Freeman provided the motion-capture for Groot.
- Bradley Cooper as Rocket:
A member of the Guardians and a former Avenger who is a genetically engineered raccoon-based bounty hunter and a master of weapons and military tactics. Gunn said that the film tells Rocket’s story, including his background and “where he’s going”, along with how that ties into the other Guardians and the end of this iteration of the team. The film completes a character arc that was established in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and continued in Infinity War and Endgame. Sean Gunn once again provided on set motion capture for the character, while also voicing young Rocket. Cooper also voiced adolescent Rocket while Noah Raskin voiced baby Rocket. - Will Poulter as Adam Warlock:
A powerful artificial being created by the Sovereign to destroy the Guardians. Given Warlock is newly born from the Sovereign’s cocoon, he is “basically a baby” that “does not understand life very well”. Poulter believed there was “a lot of comedy” in someone just entering the world for the first time and “trying to develop his moral compass”, while also having “some genuine pathos”. Gunn thought Warlock’s interactions with the Guardians provided “an interesting juxtaposition” to what their journey has been, and described him as a more traditional superhero compared to the Guardians, although not necessarily a hero. - Sean Gunn as Kraglin: A member of the Guardians and Yondu Udonta’s former second-in-command in the Ravagers.
- Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary:
An alien cyborg scientist and CEO of OrgoCorp specializing in creating hybrid creatures and Rocket’s creator, seeking to forcibly enhance all living beings into a “special race” where he has been credited as creating the Animen, the Humanimals, the Hell Spawn, the Sovereign, the Xeronians, and the Star Children. Iwuji described the character as “narcissistic, sociopathic, but very charming”, adding that there was “something very Shakespearean about him, there’s something very emotionally dark about him, and he’s a lot of fun on top of all that”. In preparation for the role, Iwuji listened to his character’s taste for classical music in contrast to the American rock and pop music songs played in the film, allowing Iwuji to go back to his favorite arias and operas, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787). Gunn likened the High Evolutionary to “a space version” of Doctor Moreau from Island of Lost Souls (1932), a film Gunn is a big fan of, calling him “a detestable character”. When asked by Rachel Lindsay of Extra about the character, Gunn referred to the High Evolutionary as the “cruelest MCU villain” to date the franchise has ever seen due to how he negatively impacts on the lives of Rocket and his fellow subject friends, while Iwuji made sure along with Gunn to avoid giving the Evolutionary, at least intentionally, any sympathy unlike previous villains like Thanos or Killmonger, focusing under Gunn’s orders on commenting in the character’s single mindedness, narcissistic and zealous personality like the “most horrific” figures in history have been shown to be. - Linda Cardellini as Lylla: An anthropomorphic otter who is an associate and friend of Rocket. Cardellini provided both the voice and motion capture for Lylla, having previously played Laura Barton in past MCU media.
- Nathan Fillion as Master Karja: An orgosentry at Orgocorp.
- Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord: A high-ranking Ravager.
PRODUCTION
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) writer and director James Gunn stated in November 2014 that, in addition to having the “basic story” for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) while working on the first film, he also had ideas for a potential third film. Despite this, he was unsure in June 2015 if he would be involved with a third Guardians film, saying that it would depend on how he felt after making Vol. 2. In April 2016, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the producer of the Guardians films, said a third film was planned for the franchise as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in “2020 and beyond”. In March 2017, Gunn said there would be a third film “for sure. We’re trying to figure it out”, soon adding that there were no specific plans for the film yet, but that Marvel would want to make it “unless something goes horribly—which is always possible, you never know”. He also reiterated that he had not decided whether he would be directing the film, and that he was going to figure out his involvement and his next project “over the next couple of weeks”. Part of Gunn’s reluctance to return to the franchise came from not wanting to work on it without Michael Rooker, whose character from the first two films, Yondu Udonta, died at the end of Vol. 2.
Gunn announced in April 2017 that he would return to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He said the film would be set after Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), and would “conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond”. He also felt that the three Guardians films would “work together as a whole”, telling one story, with the third film “tying a lot of stuff together” from the first two and giving “a lot of answers on a lot of different things”. Gunn also planned to work with Marvel on the future of the “Marvel Cosmic Universe”. He was set to begin work on Vol. 3 shortly after completing his work as executive producer and consultant on Infinity War. On returning for the third film, Gunn said, “I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t have a fairly clear idea of where we were going and what we were going to do. I’m not a guy that’s just going to do it if I don’t have a vision for it”.
After originally including Adam Warlock in his script treatment for Vol. 2, Gunn and Feige noted the importance of the character on the cosmic side of the MCU and hinted that he would make an appearance in Vol. 3. In May 2017, after the release of Vol. 2, Gunn said he would be creating the third film “over the next three years”, and confirmed that Pom Klementieff would reprise her role as Mantis. He also intended to have Elizabeth Debicki reprise her role as Ayesha. By mid-June, Gunn had completed the first draft of his script treatment for the third film, and was considering changing a piece of character info he had placed in the background of the mugshot sequence in the first film (when the Guardians are captured by the Nova Corps). In September, Gunn reiterated that Vol. 3 would be released “in a little under three years”, as the film had privately been set for release on May 1, 2020. At the end of February 2018, Gunn planned to meet with Mark Hamill about possibly appearing in the film. In April, Chris Pratt was set to reprise his role as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, and the following month, Dave Bautista confirmed that he would reprise his role as Drax the Destroyer. Marvel received the completed first draft of the screenplay from Gunn by the end of June, ahead of the beginning of official pre-production on the film.
RELEASE
May 5, 2023
