It took Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 longer than initially expected to get to the principal photography stage, but the long-anticipated threequel finally began filming last November. In recent weeks, Zoe Saldana, a.k.a. the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Gamora, has been dropping some behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of her time on Vol. 3. However, one of these posts got the actress in trouble with Marvel, but Saldana was able to repost the clip with a minor modification.
Zoe Saldana shared a video on her Instagram page that seemed innocent enough: with her face covered in full Gamora makeup, she was enjoying a beverage from a mate cup while looking through a binder full of documents. Well, it turns out Marvel wasn’t keen on the prospect of Instagram users potentially discerning what kind of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3-related secrets were in those documents, and instructed Saldana to take it down. Well, the video’s back up, but take a look at how it differs from its predecessor.
Ah, the wonders of being able to edit your Instagram video before posting. All Zoe Saldana needed to do was draw over the documents shown in frame, and Marvel was cool with her putting the video back up. After all, it’s not like Saldana intentionally meant to give eagle-eyed MCU fans a way to uncover some clues about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that might have been exposed by Saldana flipping through those papers. It was an innocent enough mistake, and now the video’s true purpose is clear: showing off her fancy cup!
There was a time when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was supposed to be released in May 2020, making it the first Phase Four movie. However, Disney firing James Gunn in the summer of 2018 put the kibosh on those plans, and by the time he was rehired, he’d already agreed to make The Suicide Squad for the DC Extended Universe. Between that, Gunn’s subsequent work on the Peacemaker spinoff series, COVID-19-related obstacles and Marvel Studios shuffling around its theatrical calendar, by the time Vol. 3 comes out, seven years will have passed since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s release. But hey, better late than never!
Of course, the Guardians of the Galaxy haven’t been absent since 2017; they were important players during Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, Infinity War saw Gamora be killed by Thanos as a necessary sacrifice so he could obtain the Soul Stone on Vormir, but on the flip-side, a time-displaced Gamora was brought into play during Endgame and disappeared after the climactic conflict was over. Although the majority of the Guardians will appear later this year in Thor: Love and Thunder, this younger Gamora will not be part of that lineup, so we’ll have to wait until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to learn what she’s been up to.
In addition to Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan and Sean Gunn all joining Zoe Saldana in reprising their respective roles, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will also feature the return of Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord, who was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as a high-ranking Ravager who was once close with Michael Rooker’s Yondu Udonta. As for the newcomers, Vol. 3 will introduce Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock (who was teased in one of Vol. 2’s end-credits scenes) and a yet-to-be-identified character played by Peacemaker star Chukwudi Iwuji who’s been described as “powerful” and “extremely complex.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently slated to open in theaters on May 5, 2023, so keep checking back with us for updates on its progress and any other major news about upcoming Marvel movies that trickle in. Don’t forget that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will also drop on Disney+ this December.
