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James Gunn calls Guardians of the Galaxy 3 a “wrap up” for the team

James Gunn says he's trying to "be true to the story" for the Guardians of the Galaxy as we currently know them in the MCU

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

The third Guardians of the Galaxy MCU movie is going to be the finale for this iteration off the team, James Gunn has confirmed. Speaking on an episode of Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast, he calls Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 a “wrap up” on the story thus far.

“This is the end for us. This is the last time people will see this team of Guardians,” he explains. “I just want to be true to the characters, and I want to be true to the story and I want to give people the wrap-up that they deserve for the story. So that is always a little bit scary; I’m doing my best.”

Indeed, by the time Guardians of the Galaxy 3 rolls around in 2023, it’ll be a full nine years since the team debuted in the franchise. Peter ‘Star-Lord’ Quill (Christ Pratt), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Nebula (Karen Gillan), all arrived in the 2014 science fiction movie Guardians of the Galaxy, swiftly becoming beloved among Marvel fans and cinema-goers at large. They’ve since expanded to include Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and last we saw them, they were heading back into space after Avengers: Endgame.

Besides assisting to stop Thanos, the Guardians have an existential threat of their own. The James gunn written-and-directed Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will include Adam Warlock, a being created by the Sovereign to hunt and kill the team. Will Poulter has been cast in the role, after the character was teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.

Before all that, however, we’ll be seeing them in Thor: Love and Thunder, this summer as part of Marvel Phase 4. Little is known about the God of Thunder’s fourquel, which is directed by Taika Waititi, and co-written by he and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, other than Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster is returning to the fold to wield Mjolnir. Chris Hemsworth is back to play Thor, with Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, and the bulk of the Guardians.

Thor: Love and Thunder arrives in theatres July 8, 2022, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is coming May 5, 2023. Check out the best alien movies for more intergalactic oddities.