Following a strong critical response, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is likely one of the most highly anticipated of the upcoming Marvel movies. It marks the end of one of the most compelling corners of MCU storytelling and based on everything we know about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, it is likely to draw more than a few tears from the audience that has gone on an incredible journey with the characters. However, Guardians 3 is a big movie in another way, as there are apparently more than 600 different versions of the film, each one designed to give the audience the best possible experience for their environment.
These days fans have countless options when it comes to deciding how to see a movie in theaters. There are large format screens like IMAX and there’s the option to 3D Or Not 3D. Even when it comes to the more “traditional” exhibition, there are different screens designed for different aspect ratios. If you want to have the best possible theatrical experience, there’s often a “best choice” but THR reports that director James Gunn crafted more than 600 different versions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 so that anybody seeing the movie anyway would get the best possible version for their theater.
There is a version in the traditional IMAX 1.90 aspect ratio of course. There is a version in a 2.39 letterboxed aspect ratio. However, there will also be a version that will be displayed primarily in 2.39 but has about 45 minutes of the film that will expand the screen into a 1.85 aspect ratio, giving the audience even more to see during key moments of the film. The 3D version of the film will also apparently take full advantage of this variable framing, though exactly what that means is not clear.
Of course, with all these different versions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there’s a potential new problem. Even if you see a version of the movie that has been optimized for the theater that you are in, there are still going to be other versions out there that you may want to check out. If you don’t see the film with this variable aspect ratio you may want to go see the movie more than once, though I’m sure Marvel Studios won’t mind.
Making this many different versions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 certainly meant a lot of extra work in the post-production process. However, while there have been a lot of reports in recent years about the digital effects in Marvel movies being a mad rush to get done in time for release, Guardians apparently did not have this problem, which freed up the time and resources to produce the film the way Gunn wanted. Disney’s vp of finishing and stereo, Evan Jacobs explained…
It would’ve been harder, frankly, to accommodate this kind of creative vision on a different delivery schedule, but we had the time and we were able to make it work.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the end for the team as we know it. Whatever sort of version of the film you see, director James Gunn wants to be sure that the audience gets the best possible theatrical experience when they say goodbye to these old friends.
