Spoilers ahead for Guardians 3.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a wildly popular entertainment powerhouse that is showing no signs of slowing down. Prior to its release one of the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movies was definitely Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie delivered critically and at the box office, especially for those who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order. And director/writer James Gunn recently admitted the Guardians character was the “most different” by Vol. 3 was initially hired as a money-saving move. Hey, that’s show business.
James Gunn is the man behind the Guardians franchise, and he’s put a great deal of work into the franchise over the last decade. We’ve seen the entire cosmic team go through great changes during this time, but he recently spoke in an interview with Collider about which characters were altered the most. He chose an unlikely subject: Sean Gunn’s Kraglin. In the director’s words:
The most different was Kraglin. Because he was just the first mate who I gave a name to and I didn’t know that he was going to become such a main part of Guardians of the Galaxy. I never would have thought he was gonna be on the poster with a head fin – that’s just kind of developed.
There you have it. While Kraglin was a character in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, not even James Gunn could have predicted where his plot line would end up going. That includes inheriting Yondu’s arrow, and even becoming a full-fledged Guardian in Vol. 3’s post-credits scene. We’ll just have to see if/when Kraglin returns to the shared universe.
Of course, Sean Gunn is also the brother of James Gunn; the two have worked together a number of times prior to their collaboration on Guardians. And on top of playing Kraglin, Sean Gunn also performs the motion capture for Rocket, before Bradley Cooper’s voice is eventually added in post. The acclaimed director explained why hiring his brother as a Ravager made financial sense at the time, sharing:
And also because it was cheaper. We had already hired Sean for Rocket. So we saved money by also giving him another character. But I will say Rocket and Quill and Nebula were very close to what I originally envisioned.
From the looks of it, Guardians 3 was the final chapter surrounding the current team. And it’s unclear what comes next, especially since James Gunn is busy as the DCU’s new co-CEO. He’s also writing and directing Superman: Legacy, so it seems he might have left the MCU behind. But there’s hope for Sean Gunn’s Kraglin, if/when we see the Guardians 2.0 in action.
Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still in theaters now. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is The Marvels on November 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
