Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn Teases That Sequel is “Something Completely Different”

San Diego Comic-Con took place last weekend and the Marvel panel included a first look at the highly-anticipated threequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie is set to hit theatres next year and fans of the franchise can’t wait to see how James Gunn wraps up his trilogy. The director has confirmed that this will be the last film to feature the original Guardians crew, and he’s teased a little more in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 

“This is a much bigger movie than the other two movies, and it’s a much more emotional movie than the other two movies,” Gunn teased. “And it’s a longer movie than the other two movies – it’s bigger in every way.” he said of filming Vol. 3, “It was really comfortable, actually … I’m really familiar with the actors, so I know what they have to do.” 

“They’ve gotten better at their jobs so that I don’t have to bash them around so much,” Gunn added with a laugh. “In a lot of ways, it was really easy – it’s really natural for me. I understand this. But I’m also really pushing myself and trying to create something completely different from what came before it, but that also honors what came before it.”

Karen Gillan (Nebula) added, “It definitely feels like the most epic. It’s complex, and the characters are having to deal with that. It’s very emotional for all of them. And then we’re also dealing with the fact that this is the end of an era of sorts, and so there’s a lot of emotion.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will feature the return of Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Dave Bautista (Drax). Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Sean Gunn (Kraglin/on-set Rocket), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), and Vin Diesel (Groot). New additions to the cast also include Will Poulter as Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary as well as The Suicide Squad‘s Daniela Melchior, Superstore alum Nico Santos, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm‘s Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog. 

“I think it’s really been about telling one story between the three films with a couple of sideways adventures,” Gunn said during Vol. 3‘s portion of Marvel’s Comic-Con panel. “But I think it really is about the one story. This is the final arc that we began at the very beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, with Peter Quill, with Rocket, seeing where Nebula goes, and even Kraglin, who started out as saying one or two lines in the first movie and is now a main Guardian of the Galaxy.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. is set to be released on May 23, 2023. But first, you can catch the characters in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special later this year.