Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Is A Return To Pre-Endgame MCU

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

After several recent MCU projects have come under scrutiny, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 proves Marvel Studios is finally coming back to form, though this creates a problem for the upcoming Phase 5 and beyond. Released on May 5, 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 acted as the conclusion to the story of the original Guardians team and was director James Gunn's final project with Marvel Studios before leaving to helm DC Studios' new shared universe. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is Marvel Studios' biggest critical success story in a while, following a divisive Phase 4 and uncertain start to Phase 5 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

While 2014's and 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy films saw the team fight to save the galaxy, Vol. 3 was a more personal story as the team sought to save one of their own, Bradley Cooper's Rocket. Cooper was joined by returning cast members Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Maria Bakalova, and Zoe Saldaña as the 2014 variant of Gamora for one final adventure. With new powerhouse characters such as Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary and Will Poulter's Adam Warlock debuting, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a spectacle for the MCU's Phase 5, which poses a peculiar problem for the MCU's future.

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Feels The Most Like Pre-Endgame MCU In Years

drax star-lord and nebula in guardians of the galaxy uniforms

The MCU's Phase 3 is widely regarded as the strongest era of the franchise, with projects such as Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, and the climactic Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame all being met with massive success. It seemed as though Marvel Studios had finally found their footing, as each project built on the mythos of the shared universe while pushing the storyline forward until everything came to a head in Infinity War. Phase 3 also included Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, cementing the team as one of the most beloved fixtures in the MCU, and Vol. 3 continues this, despite releasing so long afterward.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 feels almost like an homage to the pre-Endgame MCU movies, harking back to a time when each project wasn't so focused on laying the groundwork for the major villain or playing into the overarching storyline, but when attention was given to each individual story. The first two Guardians of the Galaxy films had very little to do with the overarching narrative of the MCU, but instead developed the more intimate stories of the Guardians themselves, and Vol. 3 carries this on brilliantly. The entire Guardians of the Galaxy cast returning helped this, providing familiarity and connection between the old MCU and the Multiverse Saga.

Work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 started back in 2017 following the release of Vol. 2, with an expected 2020 release date originally set for the project. However, the film was delayed massively following the 2018 firing and re-hiring of director James Gunn. This means that the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was written while the MCU was still in the midst of Phase 3, allowing some of the energy of the pre-Endgame franchise to be included. The fact that James Gunn himself stuck around for each installment of the Guardians franchise provides a fantastic level of continuity that is rare in Marvel Studios' projects.

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Is One Of The Best Post-Endgame MCU Movies

the high evolutionary in guardians of the galaxy vol 3

In the wake of Avengers: Endgame and the ending of the MCU's Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios doubled-down on their development of new content for the MCU, particularly after the success of the MCU's first Disney+ TV shows, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki. However, this barrage of new projects coming from Marvel Studios resulted in less consistent quality. This led to the MCU's Phase 4 becoming one of the most divisive eras of the franchise.

In theaters, Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love & Thunder were all met with mixed reviews, while Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and the overall connectivity issues with the MCU's Disney+ series' all garnered some criticism. Until Phase 4, the most projects to be released in one of the MCU's Phases was eleven for Phase 3 over the span of three years. In comparison, Phase 4 produced seven films, eight series', and two Special Presentations in under two years, and the increased workload became evident in the overall quality of the latter Phase 4 projects, particularly Thor: Love & Thunder and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though this pattern was set to continue into the MCU's Phase 5, as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was met with mixed reviews, with the film's screenplay, plot, and tone shift from previous Ant-Man films being criticized heavily. However, following Quantumania's release and poor reception, Marvel Studios confirmed that several upcoming projects would be delayed to allow the focus to shift back to quality, so the future is looking bright for the MCU. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 only underlined this point, as its positive reception and Phase 3 textures have been met with praise.

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Shows MCU Phase 5's Problem

adam warlock in guardians of the galaxy vol 3 opening

While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's standalone story is perhaps what makes it so entertaining following the confusing storylines laid out in the MCU's Phase 4, this also poses an issue for the upcoming projects in the franchise. Vol. 3 feels as if it's closing the chapter on the Guardians of the Galaxy's story that started in Phase 2, and therefore not paying attention to the overarching storyline of the current MCU - which has moved on drastically since Vol. 2 and Avengers: Endgame. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 harks back to the MCU's past but doesn't do much to set up any storylines in the franchise's immediate future.

Aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's storyline certainly set up the future of the MCU, such as debuting a new Guardians of the Galaxy team, finally introducing Adam Warlock, and confirming that Chris Pratt's "Legendary Star-Lord" will return. However, it's likely that these teases won't see any pay-off in the MCU for years to come, which could make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 feel completely separated from the rest of the MCU's Phases 5 and 6. This could become a huge problem if the upcoming projects in these Phases fail to match the standard and success of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Despite a rocky start, the MCU's Phase 5 is may be turning things around. This is in part thanks to Marvel Studios slowing down production on a variety of projects, and now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has set a strong precedence, there's hope that subsequent projects will follow suit. With installments such as Secret Invasion, The Marvels, and Daredevil: Born Again on the horizon, the future is looking bright for the MCU, but these projects will need to work extra hard now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has set an incredibly high standard.