'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' May Be the Final Ride for Chris Pratt and Team

A decade ago, the idea of a Guardians of the Galaxy movie seemed ridiculous, even within Marvel. Now, two movies and several Avengers installments later, the Guardians of the Galaxy are back, and a new trailer is getting fans excited for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie is set to hit theaters in May 2023. Many fans are wondering if there will be any more movies after that one is released.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the last one? The film's director, James Gunn discussed the trilogy and its future. Keep reading for all of the details.

According to director James Gunn, who has been the creative voice behind the Guardians movies since the very beginning, the third installment in the franchise will also be the last solo effort for these characters.

James made it clear that, even though the Guardians may not return for any more solo adventures, it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll never show up in the MCU again.

“Some stories have an end, doesn’t mean everyone dies," he said at Comic-Con over the summer.

James will be leaving Marvel to help run DC Studios, and has already produced several projects for Marvel's ostensible rival, including The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker.

Vol. 3 will feature most of the cast from the first two Guardians movies, as well as Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Space Dog.

In the first trailer, which was recently released, we see that Vol. 3 will focus on Peter Quill's grief over losing Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War, and Rocket Raccoon's attempts to unravel the mysteries of his origin.

The trailer comes on the heels of the Guardians holiday special, which was filmed at the same time as this movie but features much lower stakes.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, James said that he felt a lot of pressure to get Vol. 3 right, in part because third movies don't always have a great reputation. "I'll be honest, I started looking at all the trilogies that have existed throughout time, and in most trilogies, the third movie is awful," he explained. "There's a couple of exceptions, but when I say a couple, I mean like two or three."

"It's very rare that the third movie in a franchise is good," he continued. "So, it was important to me that we really ended this story in a good way. A lot of Vol. 3 is going back to the beginning so that we can really see the end. We see the importance of Rocket's character and who he is. It was just important to me that it worked and that I did everything I possibly could for the sake of these characters and for the fans. So, I put my all into it."

Here's hoping all that effort pays off. Based on the trailer, it certainly looks like Vol. 3 will be as colorful and lively as the first two installments in the franchise.