Guardians of the Galaxy 3: The Biggest Things That Have Marvel Fans Upset

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 brings James Gunn’s epic Marvel Cinematic Universe space trilogy to a close, but no one ever expected that the final chapter would make everyone happy. There was quite a lot riding on Guardians 3; despite a nice opening weekend box office and some glowing reactions from fans, there are definitely some big points of contention and/or “controversy” hanging over the film, as the first wave of viewers are processing and discussing what they saw. 

Below you can find a list of the major issues Marvel fans are having with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – and if you need proof they’re valid, feel free to venture down those social media rabbit holes… 

Here are the biggest things that have Marvel fans upset with Guardians of the Galaxy 3: 

Too Much “Animal Cruelty”

The biggest “controversy that has come out of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is no doubt the very triggered reactions that some people are having to Rocket Raccoon’s origin story and the cruel actions of The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) that led to the deaths of Rocket’s best friends. The claim is that by depicting scenes of small furry creatures being tortured and killed, Gunn and co. are somehow manipulating the audience’s emotions for the sake of sparking a strong reaction. 

Well, James Gunn has made it very clear through public statements and video evidence that Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s roster of tortured animals were all CGI creations, provided by the likes of Framestore and Weta FX. The filmmaker also went so far as to show off “proof” that Iwuji is actually animal-friendly in real life (why that’s even necessary is a WHOLE OTHER DEBATE), and PETA has come out and awarded Gunn for making a film that brings the subject of animal cruelty and corporate experimentation on animals to the forefront. 

Too Many Survivors

Weirdly enough, one of the biggest blowbacks to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is that it is NOT the bloodbath that Marvel fans had been mentally preparing themselves for. 

James Gunn teased heartbreak and tragedy in GotGV3 all throughout the years the film was in production – statements that Marvel fans took as a signal that major Guardians characters would be dying in the threequel. Instead, every single member of the Guardians of the Galaxy team lives through the events of the third film, with the “tragic ending” being the team splitting up to go their separate ways. 

Apparently, some Marvel fans were so anxious about the emotional blows they thought were coming that not having those blows dealt felt like a major cop-out. It didn’t help that James Gunn delivers a near-death fakeout for pretty much every character in the roster at one point or another during Guardians 3 – some think Gunn was just playing with our fears on purpose. 

That Was NOT Adam Warlock

Marvel fans waited years upon years to get Adam Warlock in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and years upon those years for James Gunn to make good on the promise teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which was that the Sovereign priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) was developing the ultimate lifeform to destroy the Guardians, in the form of Adam Warlock. 

Well, Adam Warlock certainly makes his debut in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 – but he’s not at all the character that Marvel fans know from the comics. Will Poulter plays a version of Adam who is infantile and impetuous – and the comedic riff on the character didn’t land well with everyone. At all. Adam Warlock’s depiction is probably the single most divisive element of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

Granted, by the end, Adam is set to make a big transition into his more traditional hero persona, as a member of the New Guardians of the Galaxy – but he’ll have to get there in the hands of other filmmakers. 

James Gunn’s Family & Friends Plan

James Gunn is well-known for keeping a tight-knit crew of actors in his circle, who tend to show up in multiple projects that he’s working on. It’s something that’s long been discussed between fans and critics of Gunn, alike, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has sparked some particularly harsh backlash.

Marvel fans were used to seeing James Gunn’s brother Sean in Guardians (as Kraglin/Rocket’s motion-capture actor); they were also okay with Michael Rooker appearing in the film (as the ghost of Yondu), as he’s appeared in all of Gunn’s movies. However, some viewers didn’t like it when Gunn’s wife Jennifer Holland showed up in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in a cameo role as Administrator Kwol, a bureaucrat in the High Evolutionary’s corporate headquarters.

Gunn already cast Holland in a major supporting role in his DC Universe film The Suicide Squad – a role that carried over to the Peacemaker TV series spinoff. It’s become a franchise role for Holland, as her DC character Emilia Harcourt recently made cameos in both DC’s Black Adam and Shazam 2 films. Apparently, Marvel fans are far less welcoming of Gunn’s spouse appearing onscreen. 

WHY Is Gamora… In GotGV3?

Zoe Saldana’s Gamora returns in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but both the actress and her onscreen character were clearly reluctant to do so. 

In Guardians 3 Gamora is an entirely different character (from the splinter timeline created in Avengers: Endgame) – and that change is a major subplot of the film. Gunn uses this new Gamora as means of both forcing Peter Quill to finally accept and face loss (which he’s run from since the start), and giving Gamora’s character a whole new life to live (after many fans were angry she got “fridged” in Avengers: Infinity War). 

That all said, there are some Marvel fans that argue there was ultimately no point to having Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy 3: her absence would still force Star-Lord to reach acceptance and move on, and the character’s future in the MCU would be even more free and open. 

Then again,  if Gamora had not been in Guardians 3, it’s easy to imagine the same viewers would complain that the final installment of Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t have all the characters in it… 

No Helmet, No Love

Chris Pratt played “Peter Quill” in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but some Marvel fans are having a hard time saying that he played “Star-Lord” in the film. That’s because “Star-Lord’s” signature helmet is nowhere to be found in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 – and there is not really any good explanation given as to why (beyond Chris Pratt’s possible contractual stipulations). 

Bad Nebula Romance

While a lot of fans are celebrating Karen Gillan’s arc as Nebula in the MCU, there are a couple of moments with her in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that are really tripping fans up. One moment is at the beginning of the film, where Nebula carries Peter Quill to bed after he passes out drunk in their base on Knowhere – some viewers thought a prolonged glance from Nebula implied some kind of deeper longing for Quill. That theory gets further backing later in the movie, when Gamora floats the idea of Peter and the reformed Nebula getting together, causing Star-Lord to awkwardly try flirting with Nebula, who promptly rejects his advances. 

Some viewers were irked by the notion that Guardians 3 teased this bad romance as a red herring – but they may have also been misreading the signals. 

(Random) New Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s mid-credits scene sees Rocket Raccoon and Groot leading the New Guardians of the Galaxy team on a protection mission. The new team roster is revealed to be Rocket, Groot, Adam Warlock, Kraglin, Cosmo the Space Dog (Maria Bakalova), Phyla (Kai Zen) and the alien pet Blurp. 

The roster of the New Guardians of the Galaxy seems incredibly random to a lot of Marvel fans – half the viewers didn’t even know who Phyla was. Now, some fans are speculating whether or not this will even be the actual Guardians team roster when we see them next – wherever and whenever that is. 

MCU Fatigue Talk

Outside of the film itself, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has once again sparked talk about whether or not there’s “MCU Fatigue” setting in with audiences. 

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 made $118.4 million domestically on opening weekend, and $168.1M internationally. Because Guardians 2 opened to $146.5M, and Ant-Man 3 made upwards of $120M in its first four days, some are looking at GotGV3 as an “underperformer.” 

To be fair, the issue here is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a summer kickoff film in one of the most successful franchises in the MCU – and the milestone ending to James Gunn’s trilogy. The fact that even that kind of marquee film for Marvel only opened to modestly successful returns is a dire sign in the eyes of some onlookers. 

Meanwhile, a whole lot of fans are getting tired of having this debate every time a Marvel movie or TV show comes out (us included…)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now out in theaters.