James Gunn’s 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy was a landmark of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn’s filmmaking style is perfect for the colorful world these characters inhabit. After some hilarious intergalactic escapades, our time with these characters is close to an end. In the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, viewers are promised something much more dramatic. This past summer Gunn pledged to make a sequel that would be bigger in every way.
He teased again last month that the film would have an “incredibly emotional story." With the trailer’s release, Gunn seems to have made good on his promise. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 appears to be a final curtain call for our funniest groups of heroes. The story seems to mainly focus on the origin of Rocket Raccoon explaining how he came to be. Besides the focus on Rocket’s origin, the trailer has many other goodies in store.
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High Evolutionary is Entering The MCU
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
A known detail of Vol. 3’s story focuses on the origin of Rocket Raccoon. Promised to be a big component of the movie since 2020, Gunn’s statements are coming true. The Guardians will be coming face-to-face with Rocket’s creator, the High Evolutionary. The trailer begins with dialogue from Peter Quill, over the groups’ arrival on a planet appearing to be Earth. When the Guardians arrive at this earth-like planet a shocking surprise awaits. Known in comic lore as Counter-Earth, it is a planet designed by the High Evolutionary.
This mysterious planet has no human residents, or so it seems. Filled with different alien creatures, they are rather unsettling. A brief joke involving Drax hitting an alien with a basketball happens, followed by a line from Quill in the trailer that emphasizes the threat. “We have been running our whole lives” highlights the severity and menace of the High Evolutionary. Rocket follows this line by saying “Pete, I’m done running,” signifying that this will be the Guardian’s last stand. SPACEHOG’s song “In the Meantime” plays as an orchestral score over the rest of the trailer.
It is a somber song choice, showing the team on a new space adventure unlike any other. The montage continues, showing the Guardians fighting many extraterrestrial threats, including those sent by the High Evolutionary himself. The sheer scope of these sequences shows that this villain is after the team.
Audiences Will Meet New Guardians
The plot synopsis for the film hints that the team has to “protect one of their own.” It is a clue that is easy to uncover the meaning for. This clue hints that the High Evolutionary may have kidnapped Rocket. Brief glimpses in the trailer show how the experiments in his past made him the Rocket fans love. Starting the Guardian’s arrival on Counter-Earth without Rocket helps to explain they are on a mission to rescue him. Emphasizing the rescue mission, the trailer introduces us to other important characters. These new characters will change the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.
One of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2’s five after credits-scenes teased Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). Wanting revenge for being defeated by the Guardians, Warlock is created by the Sovereign. The trailer only shows a brief glimpse of the character having a fight with Nebula. Striking a menacing pose, viewers are supposed to think of him as an enemy. Considered the Superman of the universe, he is too powerful a character to waste. He is not the only new character who could have a potential future in the MCU.
The trailer also offers a glimpse of Rocket’s first love. Lylla the Otter is the love of Rocket’s life and is someone with a connection to his past. Shown briefly embracing Rocket in the trailer, the couple has a long comic history. Her history connects to the High Evolutionary, involving a planet known as Half-World. Half-World is the original home of both Lylla and Rocket from the comics. Whatever planet the Guardians arrive at could be a combination of both Half-World and Counter-Earth. Adding a prolific character like Lylla does feed into one popular Vol. 3 theory: that Rocket Raccoon might be sacrificed to save the world and those he loves.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’s trailer left a lot for audiences to try and decipher. The two-and-a-half-minute trailer painted a somber picture. One of the MCU’s most popular hero teams will never be the same after this film. As the trailer says, it is time for this crew to “face the music” hinting at an unfortunate end for some.
The serious tone does not take away what audiences know these characters for. Humor is the key for Vol. 3’s trailer to be one of the MCU’s best. Opening and closing the trailer with comedic moments helped to bring these characters’ journeys to a close. Just like the rag-tag group of heroes, it is time for fans to “face the music” in May.
