Ahead of the release ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, directorJames Gunnhas shared an image capturing a special moment in time from the production. The photo features Gunn surrounded by the starringGuardians of the Galaxycast, including Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Zoe Saldaña (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Karen Gillan (Nebula), and Sean Gunn (Rocket’s motion capture, Kraglin). Gunn reveals in the tweet that the photo was taken just afterthe group had filmed their final shot with everyone together as a group, a moment that will most likely never again be repeated.
“Photo from moments after the last time, likely forever, we shot with the full on-setGuardianscast all at once,” Gunn says in the tweet. “[Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] opens in just a few days. See you at the movies.”
Of course, there’s no presence of Groot in this photo, but that’s not unusual, as Vin Diesel separately does voiceover work to play that character. For the third installment of theGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy, the above cast will be joined by Chukwudi Iwuji (The High Evolutionary), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), Elizabeth Debicki (Ayesha), Sylvester Stallone (Stakar Ogord), and Maria Bakalova (Cosmo).
Related:Bradley Cooper Finally Joins the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Promotional Tour and Talks Getting Emotional Over Rocket’s Story
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Marks the End of an Era
James Gunn has no plans to make any moreGuardians of the Galaxyfilms, and given how busy he’ll be for at least the next decade with his work at Warner Bros. for the DCU, he may be finished with the Marvel CInematic Universe altogether. Some of the cast members of theGuardians of the Galaxycrew have also said they’re finished playing these roles after the release of the third movie, including Dave Bautistaas well as Zoe Saldaña. Some characters could still show up elsewhere in the MCU, asChris Pratt says he’s still open to returningas Star-Lord, but theGuardians of the Galaxystory as a whole is apparently over with this new movie.
“This is the end for us,” Gunn said of makingGuardians of the Galaxymovies last year onDeadline’s Hero Nation podcast. “This is the last time people will see this team of Guardians… I just want to be true to the characters, and I want to be true to the story and I want to give people the wrap-up that they deserve for the story. So that is always a little bit scary; I’m doing my best.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3officially premieres in movie theaters on August 16, 2025. The release follows last year’sGuardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which allowed for fans to get just a little bit more of these characters together before they would embark on one last adventure. It’s the end of an era withGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3concluding this story, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be living on.
