When Guardians of the Galaxy first hit the big screen in 2014, they were a team that only die-hard Marvel comic book fans knew much about. The public, including Rocket mo-cap performer/ Kraglin actor and the director’s brother Sean Gunn was surprised by the success, the groovy space opera would be. Most of that success is all thanks to the vision of filmmaker James Gunn, whose tenure as the head of one of the most successful franchises and the most recent upcoming Marvel movie Vol. 3 is coming to an end. The moviemaker recently shared a heartfelt photo of his final time on set with the entire Guardians team, and honestly, it made me emotional.
The photo, shared on Gunn’s Twitter account, shows the director alongside the cast members of the beloved Marvel franchise, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, and Karen Gillan. The photo was accompanied by a touching caption, in which Gunn expressed his sadness (with an emoji) about his and the rest of the cast’s time with the series coming to an end “likely forever” with Guardians of the Galaxy 3. You can see the emotional post below.
Photo from moments after the last time, likely forever, we shot with the full on-set Guardians cast all at once. 🥲💜 #GotGVol3 opens in just a few days. See you at the movies. pic.twitter.com/0FE9hkY4DDMay 1, 2023
The photo has received over a million views and thousands of retweets, prompting fans to express their love for the original cast and sadness as their stories come to a close. And smart money says some fans will be watching the Marvel movies in order ahead of the threequel's release this week. Notably several MCU actors and Guardians crew members shared heartwarming reactions. Words weren’t even necessary for Mantis actress Pom Klementieff–who had been hiding a character secret since she was first cast. She wrote:
💔❤️❤️❤️
Karen Gillan, who plays arguably the most compelling MCU character Nebula, commented on Gunn’s image. Despite her tough-as-nails on-screen persona, Gillan seems to have a bit of a softer side in real life. Gillian commented:
😭💜
The love for the cosmic crew of the Milano extended beyond the cast of Vol. 3. Vincent D’Onofrio, known for his role as Kingpin in Marvel's upcoming Daredevil series, also expressed his appreciation. The Emmy-nominated actor shared his love, commenting:
Love this!
James Gunn has made it fairly clear that the third movie would mark an end for the Guardians of the Galaxy, at least as we have known them up to this point. So will there be more Guardians movies? Gunn wants the franchise to continue, albeit probably without Pratt and the cast he put together. But the visionary filmmaker would love to see the team continue in another form.
Early reactions to Vol. 3 have been overwhelmingly positive, suggesting the film will be an emotional rollercoaster. Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud gave the movie four out of five stars, stating that it’s a most awesome send off for Marvel’s beloved misfits. Though fans and cast members may be sad to see this iteration of the team end, they can look forward to a worthy finale. As the comics have shown us, no character or series is ever truly dead. So even if this marks a farewell to James Gunn and crew, the future of the Guardians remains seemingly limitless.
Catch James Gunn and his assembled team for one last time on the big screen this Friday, May 5th, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. finally hits the 2023 new move releases schedule. In the meantime, you can stream the first two films with a Disney+ subscription.
