Although most of the Guardians of the Galaxy will return this summer for Thor: Love and Thunder (by the way, where is the first Love and Thunder trailer?), we’re still a little over a year away from this Marvel superhero team returning to center stage for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn is still in the midst of shooting the threequel and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (a.k.a. the “greatest thing” he’s ever done), but the filmmaker has shared some big news: Vol. 3 has already broken a world record.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 began principal photography in early November 2021, and is expected to wrap up sometime later this month. But with cameras still rolling, James Gunn revealed on Twitter that the makeup work on Vol. 3 has accomplished an incredible feat.
Just heard from our makeup folks at @LegacyEffects that yesterday #GotGVol3 officially passed the World Record for “the most makeup appliances created for a single production” (surpassing The Grinch). Congrats, guys! Thanks for keeping practical effects alive!April 4, 2022
That’s impressive! For two decades now, the Jim Carrey-led How The Grinch Stole Christmas held the world record for “the most makeup appliances created for a single production,” but now Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has knocked it from the top spot, which makes sense. While certain aliens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Sean Gunn’s Kraglin and Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar Ogord, join Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord in looking human, most of the extraterrestrials we run into this franchise have some kind of physical aspect that distinguish them as hailing from elsewhere in the cosmos. Sometimes it’s as simple as coloring an actor’s skin a shade like blue, green or gold, and other times the makeup teams go steps further to make select performers in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies look even weirder.
After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 comes out, hopefully James Gunn will reveal just how many actors in the threequel wore elaborate makeup, assuming that number is easy to obtain. For now though, it’s nice to hear that Vol. 3 is already a record-breaker. Filming Vol. 3 has been an emotional affair for Gunn and most of the cast and crew since this will be their last time working on a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so at least they have this achievement to celebrate ahead of principal photography concluding.
Naturally specific plot details for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 plot details are being kept closely guarded, but in addition to reuniting with Star-Lord, the time-displaced Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Kraglin and Stakar, two new characters have been thrown into the mix. First, after being teased in one of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s post-credits scenes, we’re finally Adam Warlock, who will be played by Detroit’s Will Poulter. Vol. 3 will also star Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji, and while his character hasn’t been identified yet, the actor described this individual as “extremely powerful” and “complex.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens in theaters on May 5, 2023, and CinemaBlend will continue to pass along updates on it and other upcoming Marvel movies. For now, you can stream the Guardians’ past MCU appearances with a Disney+ subscription.
