Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends the James Gunn era of Marvel Studios. However, it also leaves a nice clear runway for Marvel to do what it pleases with the characters in the future, whether that’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 or beyond. One might think Gunn would feel a little odd about seeing the characters he was so integral in bringing to life on adventures he’s not a part of but, in a new interview, he actually says the opposite.
“Whatever Marvel does with those characters, I can’t wait,” the writer-director told the New York Times. “I hope they use them. I can’t wait to see another filmmaker take on the Guardians, and I hope that they do it in a way that they take ownership of the characters. But I feel good, I feel happy.”
The same can be said for most of the characters — who, after completing this trilogy (with a few Avengers detours) all exist in a better, happier place. That was by design. Gunn admits, though, it did have a little to do with what the actors that play the characters wanted.
“Both Zoe [Saldaña] and Dave [Bautista] have been very clear they’re not going to continue — likewise, me, actually,” Gunn said. “Chris [Pratt] is open to doing more stuff, although I think he has to be convinced. It does change some things: Like, I wouldn’t have had Dave in the post-credits scene. But I’m not sure if much would have changed beyond that.”
That’s why Drax is left in the heartwarming place of embracing his fatherhood and rejecting his “Destroyer” monicker and Gamora goes off to be with her new family, which is not the Guardians. Those can easily be the ends for these characters. On the contrary, Peter Quill is given a big end credit scene specifically saying that he’ll return. But that’s only after Quill completed the journey Gunn set out for him.
“The arc with Peter Quill, in some ways, you can look at as that of many people who have experienced childhood trauma,” Gunn said. “He was by his mother’s bedside when she died, and he ran away and went into outer space — which, for other people, could be shutting off from the world — and stayed there for a long time until he came to the realisation as an adult that he needed to go back to Earth. That, for me, was always his journey.”
You can read more spoiler-filled thoughts about Gunn’s film over at the NY Times. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theatres.