Movies › Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 2023

Movie · 150 min · English · April 22, 2023

Action adventure Action comedy Superhero comedy

Directed by James GunnWritten by James Gunn

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, also known as Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, is a 2023 American superhero film adapted from Marvel Comics and centered on the superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. The production company Marvel Studios handled the film's creation while Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures managed its distribution. It continues the story from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), serving as the 32nd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The movie was written and directed by James Gunn, with a large 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. The plot follows the Guardians as they attempt to save Rocket (Cooper) from his creator, the High Evolutionary (Iwuji), a malevolent alien scientist aiming to perfect the universe.

By November 2014, James Gunn had conceived initial plans for a third and final film in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. In April 2017, he announced his return to write and direct the project before Vol. 2 was released. The story delves into Rocket’s origin, which Gunn personally connects with. In July 2018, Disney removed Gunn from Vol. 3 due to past Twitter comments that resurfaced. Support from various cast members led the studio to reverse its decision by October. His reinstatement was officially revealed in March 2019. Gunn resumed work after finishing The Suicide Squad (2021) and the first season of Peacemaker (2022), a spin-off series for DC Films. New actors, including Iwuji and Poulter, joined the cast by the start of filming at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, which began on November 2021 and ended on May 2022.

The film premiered at Disneyland Paris on April 22, 2023 and was released in the United States on May 5, marking a part of Phase Five of the MCU. Similar to earlier entries in the franchise, it received both critical acclaim and strong box office performance. Critics considered it a fitting conclusion for the trilogy. It earned over $845.6 million globally, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2023. At the 96th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Visual Effects.