While the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. already has a sense of finality for the franchise, director James Gunn seems especially intent on giving Rocket Raccoon a deserving sendoff.
In an interview with Deadline, Gunn discussed his feelings about leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to work as a head of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. As Gunn will be exclusively working for Warner Bros. Discovery going forward, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be his last projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, one of the driving forces behind the DC-bound director's desire to complete the Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy is his love of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Consequently, the wisecracking diminutive, genetically enhanced team member will have an especially large focus in the series' third movie.
Rocket's Role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
For Gunn, the act of completing his tenure with the Guardians franchise requires that Rocket's story gets a profound treatment. "The reason why I needed to finish this is because I love the character of Rocket more than any character I’ve ever dealt with before, and I needed to finish his story and that is what Volume 3 is about," he explained. "I absolutely needed to do it, and I think we’ve done it in a spectacular way that I can’t wait for people to see."
While Gunn is not certain about what will happen to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise now that he is leaving the director's seat, he shared that the third film will mark the end of the original team's stories. "It’s not ever going to be the same group of characters for a lot of different reasons," Gunn said. "Who knows what will happen with the Guardians franchise in regards to future characters, but in terms of this group of characters, this is the end of their story."
Forming part of Phase 5 of the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 revolves around Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who is still coming to terms with the loss of fellow Guardian Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. There is little time to mourn, however, as Peter must gather the rest of the Guardians to defend the universe from a looming threat and protect one of their own.
However, the threequel will be preceded by The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which will showcase the titular team on an intergalactic Christmas season excursion. While the small screen offering is a standalone story, it will apparently serve as an "epilogue" to the story of the third film. Thus, Gunn is glad he was able to expand the scope of his last MCU projects. "I feel really comfortable. I feel really good. We did this," he said in the same interview. "I think this is a bit of goofy fun that the Guardians needed as an aperitif for Volume 3, which is an enormous film. I had a plan from the beginning."
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres on Disney+ on Nov. 25. The story will pick up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is scheduled to debut in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Deadline