James Gunn Answers 37 Questions About Guardians Of The Galaxy 3

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!Now that the movie is out in theaters, writer/director James Gunn has answered dozens of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 questions from fans. The long-awaited debut of the final film in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy officially came to an end during the first weekend of May 2023. The film’s release has finally allowed audiences to see how the trilogy ends and where it leaves the main characters. But, it also has left questions about the film itself, including what comes next for Rocket, Star-Lord, and others after Guardians of the Galaxy 3‘s post-credits scenes.

To celebrate the film’s release and provide clarity when possible, James Gunn has answered Guardians of the Galaxy 3 questions circulating online by doing a Q&A on Twitter. He spent a lot of time responding to various queries about the film’s development and story decisions, what it means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future, and more. Without needing to scroll through all the tweets he replied to, here are 37 Guardians of the Galaxy 3 questions James Gunn answered.

1. Did you get to choose the new team or was it the studio? Yes, no.
2. Have you had conversations with Marvel about their plans for the guardians now that you’re done? Yes
3. Are there any deleted scenes with Llyla, Rocket, Floor, and Teef? No.
4. Did you ever consider inserting any other Marvel characters to cross over into this picture? No
5. Is there a reason Quill didn’t have his helmet in Guardians 3? It’s in his desk drawer in Knowhere. He had to get out of there fast as you know!
6. Is there an in-universe explanation as to why Quill’s ditched his helmet and rocket boots? They have jet packs. The rocket boots comparatively suck. That’s like cheap shit you get in the intergalactic version of Radio Shack. And Chris could never have done those amazing hallway moves with a helmet on.
7. Was there a plan for a new helmet design for Star-Lord (the classic design would’ve been cool)? No.
8. In the scene where Rocket and Groot are dancing, was that you and your brother on set? Yes
9. I was VERY curious on how Drax knew the JOOB JOOB but Mantis didn’t being Ego’s translator? Drax knew the language from his childhood. It’s not in anyone’s translators.
10. Why did no one understand, or acknowledge the language on Counter-Earth not being recognized by their translators? It’s a cloistered culture. It would be normal not to have their Humanimal language in the translators.
11. Was the line always going to be “I love you guys” or did you have other options? No
12. Was there any consideration given towards giving the one spoken “F***” in the movie to Groot? Consideration? Sure.
13. Was redesigning Howard The Duck your idea? Yes. I’ve redesigned him on every movie because I’ve never been satisfied and we were rushed the first couple times. I’m happier now.
14. Did you ever think about giving Howard the Duck a bigger role in these movies (just asking because he’s my favorite Marvel Character)? Yes.
15. Does your average MCU earthling know that the Guardians of the Galaxy exist? No
16. Was Miley Cyrus not able to reprise her role from Guardians 2? Was that the same character? Yes. Yes.
17. James is Adam Warlock single? Yes
18. Has Grandpa Quill heard about Peter’s world-saving adventures already? No.
19. Does Peter Quill’s grandfather know about Ego? No
20. Was there an actual dog playing Cosmo or was that CGI? No, yes.
21. Was the Eagle in the cage an Eagly reference? Or just an Eagle? That was actually the real Eagly.
22. Can Groot grow a new body very quickly now? Yes.
23. Will there be Vol 4? No.
24. Will there ever be a director’s cut of the trilogy? Yes (the trilogy as is is the Director’s Cut)
25. Do you want to do an extended version? No.
26. Does Guardians 3 have an alternate ending planned? No.
27. Will there be a longer cut of the film that has more Michael Rosenbaum in it? No
28. Will there be a commentary version of this film? Yes
29. As early as when you were making GOTG 1, did you already have ideas on where Vol 2 and 3 would go that eventually made it in the final films? Or were your initial ideas totally overhauled along the way? Yes, no.
30. Did you have to fight/negotiate hard with Disney to have all of those dark scenes? Or were the pretty open to your final vision? No. Yes.
31. Was it difficult writing Gamora’s arc in Vol 3, knowing Infinity War was going to kill her off? No.
32. Nebula’s arm is the Bucky’s arm from Holiday Special?? No. It’s way better.
33. I saw you mentioned Annihilus as a possible villain for Vol 3. Was he also going to be a candidate for Rockets creator? Yes.
34. Does Rocket keep in contact with Thor? No.
35. Is there a super big, deeply-hidden Easter egg like the first one? Yes.
36. Did Bradley do all the young Rocket voice work too? No (Noa Raskin is baby Rocket, Sean Gunn is Young Rocket)
37. Since Halfworld isn’t a thing in the MCU (I guess this is what you retconned out from the 1st movie) does that mean Rocket isn’t a halfworlder in the MCU, right? You could consider Halfworld a more intergalactic name for Counter-Earth.

The Biggest Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Reveals Provided By James Gunn

A large amount of the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 answers James Gunn provided came in regard to how he worked with Marvel Studios to make the movie happen. This included answering the question about who chose the MCU’s new Guardians of the Galaxy team by revealing that he selected the lineup, not Marvel Studios. While making Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, Cosmo, and Phyla-Vell be part of the new group marks the last time Gunn will shape the team’s future, he also confirmed he’s spoken to Marvel about how they want to use the Guardians after Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

James Gunn also answered a few Guardians of the Galaxy 3 questions that some thought to be oversights or plot holes. This includes why Star-Lord did not have his helmet with him in the movie, how Drax understood the Joob Joob language, why the Guardians of the Galaxy’s universal translators did not understand the Humanimals’ language, and that Nebula’s new arm is not Bucky’s Winter Soldier arm. Gunn also revealed that Disney did not push back on the darker scenes in the movie, such as moments connected to who dies in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Understandably, a lot of the other Guardians of the Galaxy 3 questions James Gunn answered connect to the end of his time with the franchise. He confirmed that there are no extended cuts or alternate endings for the movie. He also shot down speculation that he would return for Guardians of the Galaxy 4. It all helps signal that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the end of his MCU journey as he goes on to be DC Studios’ co-CEO for the next few years.

Source: James Gunn/Twitter