James Gunn wants to tell “Rocket’s story” in Guardians of the Galaxy 3
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, director James Gunn discussed his upcoming Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will release May 5, 2023. Gunn addressed the phenomenon of third movies in trilogies underperforming, and reassured fans that he took this one very seriously. “This is the big one,” Gunn said. “This is where things really happen. This is where we get to know the truth about who these characters are, and we face the biggest stakes.”
The last few years have been a roller coaster for Gunn, who was fired by Marvel in 2018 for tweets he posted several years prior. A year later, after immense support from fans and the Guardians cast, Gunn was rehired by Marvel to complete Guardians Vol. 3. In the meantime, he wrote and directed The Suicide Squad and created the Peacemaker TV show for Warner Bros. Now he’s eager to finish what he started.
“One of the reasons why I came back to make this movie was because I felt like I needed to tell Rocket’s story,” Gunn explained. “I would’ve been very sad not to complete the trilogy for many reasons, but I just feel very connected to Rocket. I feel like nobody would be able to tell his full story if it wasn’t me.”
Rocket, who is voiced by Bradley Cooper, will apparently be taking more of a central role in the third Guardians installment. “To me, Rocket has always been the secret protagonist of the Guardians movies,” Gunn continued. “From the beginning, it has been rooted in who he is as a character. I think he exemplifies a lot of the traits of all the Guardians. They’ve had all these traumas, and it brings them together. I just think that his is more extreme than others.”
James Gunn: Rocket Raccoon is the “secret protagonist” of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies
Rocket used to be a regular raccoon until he was kidnapped and experimented on. He was granted sentience and tortured, resulting int he trough criminal we know from the first Guardians movie. Perhaps the Guardians will hunt down the people who did this to Rocket, and he will get closure.
Not only will this be the conclusion of the Guardians trilogy, this will likely be Gunn’s last Marvel movie. Because he’s now the co-head of DC Studios with Peter Safran. That announcement was not made until after Guardians 3 wrapped up filming, so Gunn was still able to put all of his effort into hopefully breaking that third movie curse.
“Once I started doing the first Guardians movie, I felt drawn to it,” Gunn said. “I felt called to it, if that makes any sense. So I feel very good because I feel like I did everything that I possibly could to make this trilogy as good as it can possibly be. And I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate that I had all these people around me making it. It’s the biggest blessing of my life.”
The last time we saw the Guardians, they were kidnapping Kevin Bacon to learn the true meaning of Christmas in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
Next. Henry Cavill no longer returning as Superman as DC shake-up continues. dark
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