Had things gone as originally planned, James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would have been released in 2020, set to be one of the first films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4... but things didn't turn out that way. Between Gunn being fired by Disney in July 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic, things didn't end up developing on schedule. Now, however, the blockbuster is finally almost here, and nothing says "almost here" quite like a brand new Super Bowl trailer.
The first preview of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 landed online this past December following its debut at CCXP in Brazil, but the NFL championship has provided Marvel Studios a prime marketing opportunity to tease their May release, and it has been thoroughly taken advantage of. It's hard not to be more excited than ever for the conclusion of this special space opera trilogy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will see the return of the titular team as they attempt to reunite with Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) following the events of Avengers: Endgame, and the film will dive into the complicated and horrific backstory of the wonderful, irascible Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Returning in their respective roles from previous MCU chapters are Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel and Maria Bakalova (back as Cosmo The Spacedog from the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special), and the blockbuster will introduce Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary and Will Poulter as Adam Warlock.
James Gunn will be the third Marvel director to complete a full trilogy in the franchise following Jon Watts' Spider-Man series and Peyton Reed's Ant-Man & The Wasp run, and its likely to be his last film for the canon given that he is now the co-CEO of DC Studios. The script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is something he's been working on for years, and it looks like it will be a funny and emotional blockbuster experience based on everything we've seen from the film thus far.
After years of waiting, the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie will be arriving in theaters on May 5 – which is exactly six years following the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. You can learn about all of the other MCU projects set to arrive in the coming months and years with our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides, and for further reading about the franchise, scope out our Marvel Movies In Order feature and our ranking of every Marvel film.
If you need a specific Guardians of the Galaxy refresher before Vol. 3 arrives in theaters, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love And Thunder, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special are all now available to watch with a Disney+ subscription.
