Director James Gunn is a busy man these days, what with recreating the DC cinematic universe as the newly appointed co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios, but the filmmaker had to come back to Marvel on last time. And for good reason. Speaking with Total Film (who have also released a new image from the Marvel threequel), Gunn states that he had to return to helm the upcoming MCU sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to tell the story of Rocket Raccoon, who Gunn calls “the secret protagonist of the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Marvel Studios/Total Film

“The most important thing for me was Rocket’s story, and then, following that, everybody else. Rocket is the secret protagonist of the Guardians of the Galaxy and has always been the centre of it for me; and this is really fulfilling that. The reason I came back, and decided to do this movie, was because I really felt like Rocket’s story needed to be told – and it was left hanging after Vol 2. So that’s the most important thing.”

So, while the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has always been an ensemble piece, Gunn has always felt that Rocket is really the main character. Making it incredibly important and personal to him to ply his trade in the MCU for a final time and tell audiences the story of this tragic comic book character. Not only will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 peel back the mystery that is Rocket Raccoon, it will also act as a “totally self-standing” outing, and according to Gunn “for the most part, it works as a story by itself.”

Of course, it will also wrap up the trilogy that began way back in 2014, bringing the adventures of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy to an end.

“It’s also the ending of a trilogy. The first movie is about the mother; the second movie is about the father; and the third movie is about the self. And that is what this journey is…”

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is Likely to be Heart-Breaking
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is sure to be one of the most heart-breaking installments in the MCU, as well as being one of the longest, with returning star Chris Pratt teasing the emotion at the movie’s center.

“It was really emotional. It was really emotional for so many reasons that it would take too long in this interview to even get into,” he said. “But it just was emotional. It was a lot of gratitude around the fact that James Gunn actually directed it and was able to do that. Just grateful that he even gave me the job to begin with. It felt gratifying, knowing that critics had said that it would likely be the first Marvel movie to bomb. And what was that gonna be like, to be the first Marvel movie to not be successful? To take these characters that no one knew, and now have them be household names, and to be part of that, and to have rides around the world.”

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Will Poulter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2023, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.