This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 serves to remind us why the MCU is no longer a story structured by the studio for its audience but one that belongs to the characters in it and honors their attachment to the fandom that lies beyond. Gunn’s final outing as the godfather of the Guardians was a marvelous retelling of the story of love, friendships, loss, sacrifices, and the road past grief for the oddball characters that first danced their way into our hearts in 2014.
James Gunn Recalls Showering Chris Pratt With Tough Love
During the filming of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 finale scene, the dance-off to decide the ownership of the orb containing the Power Stone (one of the six Infinity Stones) ended with Groot sacrificing himself to save his found family. In the aftermath, Baby Groot in Vol 2 was raised as a child of the Guardians family, and one of the most emotionally loving scenes was Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord sharing his music with the infant Groot, which the latter helplessly yet adoringly becomes fascinated with.
To recreate the emotional vulnerability infused within this one moment, James Gunn directed his Star-Lord to channel his memories with his son, Jack, who Pratt shares with his first wife and SNL alum, Anna Faris. The scene that was then projected on camera is a subtle yet charged moment, to which Gunn had only one input to add: “Do it again, but suck less!” Of course not meant as a jab at the actor’s memories with his son but it can imaginably get hard sometimes to recreate one’s memories with a loved one while holding a dummy that is to be replaced by CGI later while one is sitting within a green-screen encapsulated set.
Marvel Misses Its Guardians But Keeps a Door Open
The honorary title-holder of ‘Captain’ for the Guardians has always been a matter of some contentious in-house debate: was it Star-Lord or Rocket? The power grab was never been put to the test or questioned by any within the group except for the occasional comedic tussle between the two.
But now, with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord tracing his way back to his roots on Earth, he passes on the mantle without qualms or hesitation to the one who can lead the Guardians into their destined missions of protecting and preserving the galaxy from threats, however big or small.
Marvel, in its signature manner, ends with a highly appreciated note in the end: The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return. And although none of the Guardians are dead which serves to keep a door open for their return in the future, Dave Bautista (Drax) and Zoe Saldaña (Gamora) have definitively claimed that their time with MCU and the Guardians have come to an end. Others are excited to move on from the franchise and focus on a career beyond the confines of Marvel, too. James Gunn, in the meantime, has transitioned into DCU for the foreseeable future.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is now playing in theatres worldwide.
Source: BBC Radio 1
