Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now in its 15th year of existence with 30 films and eight series in the books. And though it would have seemed crazy to think this way a decade-plus ago, things seem to only be ramping up.

While new pieces are coming into the mix, some other characters and stories wrapped up their arcs in the coming years. One of them was The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 which is the last romp with our favorite universe-galavanting swashbucklers. 

Though a rather unlikely group to gain real prominence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Mantis, and Nebula have had some of the most comedic and emotional arcs in the entire MCU.

It’s a testament to James Gunn’s vision and the nearly perfect casting of this group that has made them such fan favorites.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 IS THE FINAL MOVIE IN THE FRANCHISE

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is the final turn for these characters (as a group) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which had fans thinking ahead of time how they would make their final exits. 

Because this is the MCU after all and the Multiverse cures (almost) all death scenarios, there’s always a chance we see some of them again. But for the time being, it would appear this is the last rodeo for James Gunn and the original cast as a whole collective.

For starters, James Gunn is officially done with Marvel after The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. He’s now heading up the vision and the productions in the DC Cinematic Universe for Warner Bros. With about 10 years of projects in various stages of the pipeline at DC, his days with Marvel are over.

And though all of the original folks are returning here with additions made along the way, some have made it clear they are done with the franchise going forward.

CHRIS PRATT, ZOE SALDANA, DAVE BAUTISTA, KAREN GILLAN, BRADLEY COOPER, VIN DIESEL, AND POM KLEMENTIEFF ALL RETURNED

The Guardians of the Galaxy have gone through a few different iterations but that was really only how they added folks to the group. The original fivesome came together as Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, and the pairing of Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon and Vin Diesel’s three-words in Groot.

From there, the group added Pom Klementieff as Mantis in Vol. 2. Plus, Karen Gillan effectively joined them as Nebula only to become bad, and then become good again through the mechanics of the final Avengers movies. 

And in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, they added Maria Bakalova as the voice of Cosmo the Spacedog as well.

This is all to say that the entire group was back again for The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and is clearly on the same page for this final movie.

There was a feeling that this would be the definitive end for some or maybe all of these characters.

For starters, Dave Bautista has already said he’s done with Marvel and the character of Drax. He didn’t re-up a contract and has said this will be his final film in the MCU.

WILL POULTER PLAYS ADAM WARLOCK AND CHUKWUDI IWUJI IS THE HIGH EVOLUTIONARY

The entire group was in the mix for The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, but there were a couple of new characters entering the fray as well.

The first was Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, a new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen, though he’s had a major part in the comic book pages. 

This was Adam Warlock’s first go-around, though it’s worth noting that the character actually had a large part in the original Infinity Gauntlet timeline from the comic book pages.

Because the movies pushed out the story further than what we saw in print, there really was no need at the time to bring Adam Warlock into the fold. But he’ll start mixing things up now.

He’s an artificially created entity, extremely powerful and incredibly logical. He starts things off as an enemy here in The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, butwon’t stay that way through his MCU run.

Meanwhile, Chukwudi Iwuji, the High Evolutionary, is another antagonist. This is the dude responsible for the laboratory that created Rocket, and the two were on a collision course.

The High Evolutionary wants to create species that are genetically perfect. Rocket was part of those early experiments.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 RELEASED IN THEATERS ON MAY 5, 2023

The first movie did around $773 million in theaters and the sequel pushed that number to north of $863 million. Vol. 3 stacked up $848.6 million at the box office, keeping it in line with the others. It had a great run when it started in theaters on May 5, 2023.