Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn Says Vol. 3 Is "Heavier" Than the Others

The first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies have certainly left an emotional impact on fans, with their humor making way for a few scenes that brings tears to the eyes, even after multiple rewatches. Writer and director James Gunn has become known for balancing his sense of humor with deeply emotional stories, so it should come as no surprise that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will have its heartbreaking moments. However, according to Gunn, the trilogy-ender will be even heavier than the first two installments.

When speaking with EW last month (for an interview that was just published this week), Gunn explained that his Guardians 3 script has remained the same over the last few years, and that it will bring a more emotional punch than maybe some fans are expecting.

"I'm still shooting Peacemaker, but I'm starting to work on Guardians 3," said Gunn. "For Guardians 3, the script has basically been written for a long time. I've been playing with it in little ways over the years, but it's basically stayed the same since three years ago. It's pretty heavy actually. It's a heavier story, so it's an emotional process to go through."

It makes sense that Guardians 3 will be more emotional, given that it's going to be the end of the story of this team of characters. There are probably going to be some tough goodbyes in the third installment.

While this new Guardians of the Galaxy story sounds like it is going to be an emotional roller coaster for fans, Gunn's other Guardians project will be a lot lighter in tone. It was announced last year that Gunn would be writing and directing a live-action Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special, which will be released on Disney+ in December 2022. That project is going to filmed at the same time as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Gunn is promising an experience that won't be quite as emotional.

"Oh, that's easy. That's a blast," he said of the holiday special. "I wrote that a couple of months ago, and I'm really, really happy with it. I'm going to shoot that at the same time as Guardians 3. So we're using some of the same sets. I think it's going to be a good holiday special."

Are you looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Excited for the holiday special? Let us know in the comments!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.