Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Reactions Paint a Very Clear Picture
Social reactions from critics have arrived for James Gunn's highly anticipated Marvel swansong Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, starring Chris Pratt and Will Poulter.
During a tumultuous time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the third and final film in James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy will (hopefully) arrive to save the day in a satisfying way. Our favorite band of A-holes are heading back to the big screen at the beginning of May for a new adventure together. Some lucky people have already seen the movie, thanks to the movie’s “European Gala” held at Disneyland Paris earlier this month, as well as the US screenings this week for critics. As you might expect, we now have plenty of thoughts about Gunn’s (presumably) final Marvel movie.
But first, a refresher on what’s going on in this one: in the upcoming Phase 5 threequel, the Guardians have pretty much settled down on Knowhere after the events of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, but when Rocket’s past resurfaces, Peter Quill will have to lead his trusty gang on a dangerous mission – one that will perhaps be their last as the team we’ve gotten to know and love since their MCU debut back in 2014. The film also features some new faces, with Chukwudi Iwuji’s villainous High Evolutionary and Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock joining the fray.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has had a rocky road to the screen. It was originally set for release in May 2020, but in 2018 Disney and Gunn clashed over some distasteful past tweets the director had written which were unearthed by conservative commentators online, and he was fired before being rehired to helm the project a year later. During that time, Gunn moved over to DC and directed The Suicide Squad, and in late-2022 Gunn assumed the position of co-chairperson and co-CEO of DC Studios. It appears that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will therefore be the last film Gunn makes for Marvel Studios.
It has been teased that this version of the Guardians team will also see their stories conclude in the last part of the trilogy, but that’s not to say that the MCU will have a Guardians-free future! There have been plenty of Guardians members in Marvel Comics outside of the Quill-Gamora-Rocket-Drax-Groot-Mantis-Nebula team, including Hollywood aka Wonder Man (who has a TV series on the way to Disney+), Moondragon, Angela, Kitty Pryde, Beta Ray Bill, Starfox (Harry Styles’ character in Eternals), Nova, Hercules (Brett Goldstein), Marvel Boy, Hulkling and Wiccan (Wanda’s kids), and, believe it or not, none other than Doctor Doom for a spell! Which is to say, don’t count on the Guardians as a concept leaving the MCU for good after this movie!
But in the meantime, we must say goodbye to Gunn’s unruly crew in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Critics have had plenty to say about Gunn’s latest outing in the lead up to the film’s premiere. The consensus is that this final installment in the trilogy is an emotional, weird, funny, and action-packed ride through the more science fiction-heavy corners of the MCU. Have a read at the Twitter reactions for yourself below:
And here are earlier reactions from the movie’s European premiere, which are just as glowing.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been written and directed for Marvel by James Gunn, and stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Maria Bakalova as Cosmo, and Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord.
It will be released worldwide on May 5.
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Kirsten Howard has paid their dues. Yes sir, the check is in the mail.