At the time when we pose these few signs, it has been exactly 3 months since the shooting of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 started. Remember, we were on November 9, 2021 when James Gunn, the director, published on his social networks (Instagram and Twitter), a photo in which we saw the entire cast proudly posing the film script in their hands. Know that all this great team is the last time we see them together. It’s not us who say it, but James Gunn in person, during Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast, during which he spoke above all about the Peacemaker series, of which he directed certain episodes.
The director says several things. The first is that this is the end for them, this is the last time people will see this Guardians team as we know it in the MCU. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, then joined by Karen Gillian and Pom Klementieff, it’s over and this third film will therefore mark the end of the atypical MCU band that first appeared in 2014. What should we understand behind the statements of James Gunn? Is this really the end of Guardians of the Galaxy? Only one part? How to consider the after Endgame, when we know to what extent these characters are directly linked to Thanos? It’s hard to say, especially since the film is being filmed in Atlanta, at Marvel Studios, with a release date set for May 3, 2023. So we still have time, and so far, the film was not leaked. On the other hand, if we start to analyze, dissect and assemble all the interventions of the actors and the director for 6/8 months now, we already have a good overview of the direction that the film will take.
The first thing you need to know is that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will be a follow-up to Taika Waititi’s Thor Love and Thunder, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas special which will be released on Disney+ and is being shot in same time as the movie. Moreover, James Gunn clarified that this short is essential to introduce and understand what will happen in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. It is therefore a canon episode which is supposed to introduce a highly anticipated character it seems. James Gunn also stressed that this third installment of the Guardians will be a dark conclusion to this team so appreciated by spectators. And that, from the outset, puts us on a track, the one that will kill several emblematic characters.
It’s the end for us, the last time we will see this Guardians team. It’s big, very big and dark. It’s different from what people might expect. I want to stay true to the characters and the story to give people the ending they deserve. It’s still kinda creepy, but I’m doing my best. I know that most of the third trilogy installments suck, but it’s not true every time…
That’s what James Gunn said recently and inevitably, hard not to think about the character of Drax, who is probably the least developed of the team. Already on the one hand, the MCU and especially James Gunn has decided to make a clown of him, the idiot of the band. As much as it wasn’t the case in the first film, it has become the somewhat silly blunderer in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and the various episodes of Avengers. And then, everything leads to believe that it is obviously the end of this character, with the different declarations. In May 2021, for example, during an interview with Collider, Dave Bautista swung to have been disappointed with the treatment of his character in the MCU.
This role changed the course of my life and Drax will always be special to me. Now that I’m down to four movies, I really wish they had gotten more personally involved with Drax, because I think he has more of a story to tell. I think Drax has a really interesting story, but they let it go. This is not to ram Marvel, I know what they are focusing on and they did what they planned. But I think they really missed the mark for Drax.
It has a great history. Selfishly, as a performer, it would have given me the opportunity to reveal different emotional facets of Drax, but also physical. If you look closely, Drax, despite looking badass and looking terrifying, gets his ass kicked more than any other Marvel character.
This whole “Drax the Destroyer” thing, they threw it out the window. People preferred the comedic side of Drax which they tapped and dug over and over again. But we missed something huge with this character and I don’t think he will ever come back. But I can’t wait to get to the end of his story.
No need to leave Sciences Po to understand that there is a good chance that Drax will be killed in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 when we hear these kinds of statements. What he also knows is that Dave Bautista went back on his remarks saying that he doesn’t think this is the end for Drax and that the MCU can continue with another actor. But hey, when we listen to the last words of James Gunn, we know that the fate that awaits Drax can only be disastrous.
James Gunn: There’s no Drax without you, buddy! You ARE the Drax the Destroyer of the MCU and as far as I’m concerned, you will never be replaced. And you have the right to do whatever you want with your career choices!
Dave Bautista: “And there’s no Drax for me without you bro! The end of the journey. Love you man!
An exchange that proves how much the two men support each other and that recalls that Dave Bautista had publicly campaigned for James Gunn when Disney wanted to fire him after controversial tweets from the past that had been unearthed. Another element that tends to prove that Drax has a chance of caner: the words of Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the film, and who was interviewed with Yahoo in September 2021 for the promotion of Bloody Milkshake. She said that she read the script with Pom Klementieff (who plays Mantis) and simply ended up in tears. Karen Gillan’s statements also go in this direction, adding that the feature film will allow us to learn “more on the existing characters and on a deeper level”. There is therefore a chance that the character of Drax will benefit from better development.
HIGH EVOLUTIONARY OR THE MASTER OF EVOLUTION
Let’s now look at actor Chukwudi Iwuji, who was therefore cast in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for a role held mysterious. However, for a few days now, theoreticians have been convinced of one thing, it is that he will embody the Master of Evolution, also known as High Evolutionary in VO. Why him and not someone else? Because the 47-year-old British actor mentioned his role to the Hollywood Reporter recently, explaining that his character was someone complex and above all ultra powerful. It was between March and April 2021 that Chukwudi Iwuji passed the casting with James Gunn with whom he worked on Peacemaker and James Gunn absolutely wanted to see him in this role. It makes more sense that it’s The High Evolutionary, because it has a direct connection to Adam Warlock. In the comics, he is the one who collects him and gives him the Soul Stone and makes him a powerful being. And since Adam Warlock will be making his debut in Guardians 3, it makes sense to me to see The High Evolutionary as the movie’s big bad. So the question arises, which side will Adam Warlock be on? On the side of the Guardians or with The Master of Evolution? Nice or bad? He is a bit of both in the comics, whose character will be interesting to follow, finally if the MCU does something good with it, which is not recorded, far from it. But hey, let’s assume that’s the case.
And then, we wonder how the treatment of the Evolutionary is going to be done in Guardians 3, because in the comics, he is basically a man who started by doing scientific tests on animals to genetically modify them. And then afterwards, after having himself evolved following his experiences, he leaves the Earth to create another world, his own, the Counter-Earth which is located on the opposite side, behind the sun. I think we’ll get snippets of his past through flashbacks, but we’re likely to find out directly as he’s evolved and ready to smash the Guardians. Anyway, in 2h / 2h30 time, they will not have time to go in depth, especially if it is necessary to develop Drax and other characters of the Guardians team who must say goodbye. Still, this Guardians 3 promises to be interesting in several respects, and by its release in May 2023, the MCU will have evolved a lot with the release of Dr Strange 2, Thor Love & Thunder and many others. series that will be canon in Phase 4 of the MCU.
