48 Fun Facts About Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Which film opened Phase Five before Guardians Vol. 3?

Quantumania, the third Ant-Man film, opened Phase Five in February 2023 to set up Kang as the saga's villain, a plan Marvel abandoned after it fired actor Jonathan Majors that December.

Who plays the High Evolutionary in Guardians Vol. 3?

Chukwudi Iwuji had just worked with Gunn on Peacemaker, and that show's crew shot his screen test for the High Evolutionary.

Who plays Adam Warlock in Guardians Vol. 3?

Will Poulter won the part through Zoom auditions and an in-person screen test; Gunn said he wanted someone youthful with both dramatic and comedic chops.

Which character appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an alternate version who has joined the Ravagers?

Gamora in Vol. 3 is the 2014 version who arrived by time travel in Avengers: Endgame, so she never fell for Quill, who is still grieving the one he lost.

Which of Rocket's Batch 89 friends is a rabbit?

Floor the rabbit picks her name when the caged friends decide to name themselves, reasoning that she is lying on the floor at the time.

What kind of animal is Lylla in Guardians Vol. 3?

An otter fitted with artificial limbs, Lylla is shot dead by the High Evolutionary as Rocket tries to free his friends, a loss that haunts him for years.

In Guardians Vol. 3, Rocket's friend Teefs is what animal?

A walrus who gets around on wheels, Teefs picks his own name because, he says, his teeth are the most prominent of the group.

Who voices Lylla in Guardians Vol. 3?

Linda Cardellini voiced Lylla and performed her in a motion-capture suit, reuniting with Gunn two decades after starring in the Scooby-Doo films he wrote.

What is the name of the High Evolutionary's planned ideal society?

Its inhabitants, the Humanimals, include an octopus drug dealer credited as 'Unsavory Octopus'.

In Guardians Vol. 3, what is the High Evolutionary's laboratory complex called?

Arête looks like a fixed headquarters but is really a spaceship, and it lifts off with Quill and Groot still inside.

Which weapon does Kraglin finally master in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Yondu's Yaka arrow, steered by whistling, finally obeys Kraglin when a vision of his old captain tells him to use his heart.

Whom does Peter Quill reunite with on Earth at the end of Guardians Vol. 3?

His grandfather Jason has not seen Peter since the night in 1988 when the boy's mother died and aliens abducted him from outside the hospital.

Which Guardian stays on Knowhere with Drax to raise the rescued children?

Nebula stays to look after Knowhere's swelling population, telling Drax that he was never meant to be a destroyer but a dad.

In the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 mid-credits scene, which song does Rocket pick as his favourite?

Come and Get Your Love by Redbone is Rocket's pick, a callback to the first film's opening, and it plays as the new Guardians race into battle.

Who voices Cosmo the Spacedog in Guardians Vol. 3?

Maria Bakalova, the Borat Subsequent Moviefilm star, voiced Cosmo and performed her motion capture, with a real dog named Slate as the on-set reference.

Gunn made Cosmo female as a tribute to which real space dog?

In the comics the character is male.

Which comedian cameos in Guardians Vol. 3 as the guard Phlektik?

Pete Davidson travelled to the set to play the guard; a separate cameo Gunn wrote for his friend Kumail Nanjiani was scrapped once Nanjiani was cast in Marvel's Eternals.

James Gunn voices Lambshank in Guardians Vol. 3, a role he first wrote for whom?

Stan Lee was getting too old to travel to the shoot, so Gunn wrote an animated creature with a Lee-like face that he could voice without the trip; Lee died before filming.

Which action star returns in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as the high-ranking Ravager Stakar Ogord?

Sylvester Stallone gave away his own return by posting a behind-the-scenes clip from the set as filming began, having first played Stakar in Vol. 2.

Whose kill switch stops Rocket being healed in Guardians Vol. 3?

Orgocorp is the High Evolutionary's company, so the Guardians break into its headquarters for the override code; Nathan Fillion plays one of its guards, Master Karja.

Which pop star voiced Mainframe in Guardians Vol. 2 before Tara Strong took over?

Miley Cyrus made an uncredited voice cameo as the robot Ravager in Vol. 2's credits; she was unavailable for Vol. 3, so Loki's Tara Strong stepped in.

Why did Disney fire James Gunn from Guardians Vol. 3 in July 2018?

Old tweets, offensive jokes circulated by conservative commentators, got Gunn fired; Disney quietly reversed course within months and announced his return in March 2019.

Which Guardians star threatened to quit Vol. 3 after Disney fired James Gunn?

Dave Bautista said he would walk unless Marvel kept Gunn's script and told a chat show he wasn't sure he wanted to work for Disney; a fan petition passed 300,000 signatures.

Which Disney studio chairman fired James Gunn from Guardians Vol. 3, then privately told him he could return?

Alan F. Horn rang Gunn the day after he agreed to make The Suicide Squad for DC, persuaded by Gunn's apology and the way he had handled the firing.

Which Ant-Man co-writer said he discussed directing Guardians Vol. 3 with Kevin Feige?

Adam McKay said he and Feige had talked a little about it, though the Marvel film he really wanted was Silver Surfer; Marvel never formally considered anyone but Gunn.

The story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was first planned by James Gunn as which spin-off?

A Rocket and Groot film was Gunn's first plan for the origin story; he says he was talked into making a third Guardians film instead and built it around Rocket anyway.

Which Fantastic Four villain did James Gunn first consider as Rocket's creator?

Annihilus, the bug-like warlord of the Negative Zone, was a villain Gunn had wished he could use while Fox still owned him; he weighed him up, then chose the High Evolutionary.

James Gunn described the High Evolutionary as a space version of which fictional mad scientist?

Doctor Moreau, H. G. Wells's scientist who cuts animals into the shape of people, was the model because Gunn loves the 1932 film version, Island of Lost Souls.

Which Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star delivers the first uncensored F-word in an MCU film?

Chris Pratt snaps it at a teammate who is struggling with a car door; the line wasn't in the script, and Gunn had him improvise it on set.

Where was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 shot?

Trilith Studios, Atlanta, is the former Pinewood Atlanta under a new name, so Vol. 3 was shot on the same lot as Vol. 2.

What is the Guardians' new ship called in Vol. 3?

The Bowie honours David Bowie, as Quill's earlier ships honoured Alyssa Milano and Pat Benatar; its interior was built as a four-story set.

Why did James Gunn drop plans to shoot on The Mandalorian's LED-screen stage?

The sets were too big for the wraparound LED stage, Gunn said, so he built them for real, favouring practical effects as he had on The Suicide Squad.

Which DC hero's cameo in the Peacemaker finale was filmed on the Guardians Vol. 3 set by Marvel's crew?

The Flash scene with Ezra Miller was shot by the Vol. 3 crew to repay a favour: Peacemaker's crew had filmed a Marvel screen test for one of its own actors.

Which Beastie Boys song plays over the Guardians' corridor battle near the end of Vol. 3?

No Sleep till Brooklyn blares as the camera seems to weave through the whole team in one flowing shot; Gunn said the Korean thriller The Villainess inspired the film's action.

Which Marvel project was filmed alongside Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, sharing its main cast?

The Holiday Special was shot on days off from Vol. 3 using the same sets, and Gunn called its goofy, low-stakes shoot a relief from the film's heavy scenes.

Which song opens Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, in an acoustic version?

Creep, in Radiohead's acoustic version, was Gunn's way of setting a much different tone from the first two films, which opened on upbeat pop.

Which Florence and the Machine song closes Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Dog Days Are Over turns the finale into a dance party on Knowhere, and even Drax, who had sworn off dancing since the first film, joins in.

Who replaced Tyler Bates as composer on Guardians Vol. 3?

John Murphy, who had also taken over from Bates on The Suicide Squad, wrote music before the cameras rolled so that Gunn could play it on set during filming.

The songs in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 come from which device Quill received at the end of Vol. 2?

A Zune freed Gunn from the 1970s hits on Quill's old cassettes, so he filled the soundtrack with songs from several decades, as a real one would hold.

Which song soundtracked the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

In the Meantime, a 1996 hit, scored the first trailer in an orchestral arrangement; Spacehog's singer credits the film's boost with bringing the band back together for a 2025 tour.

At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, what does Groot say that the audience can finally understand?

'I love you guys' isn't Groot learning new words: the idea is that after three films the audience has joined the family and can understand him as the Guardians do.

Guardians Vol. 3 shipped in over 600 versions, one of which switches mid-film between two what?

Aspect ratios: Gunn framed about 45 minutes to open up from letterboxed 2.39:1 to a taller 1.85:1 image, part of what a Disney executive called Marvel's most complex delivery.

At the end of Guardians Vol. 3, who leaves Knowhere with three tamed Abilisks?

Mantis tames the three Abilisks during the battle on the High Evolutionary's ship, then sets off with them to find out who she is after a life spent doing what others wanted.

Which film knocked Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 off the top of the box office in its third weekend?

Fast X took that weekend with about $67 million, but Vol. 3 had the last laugh, finishing the year ahead of it worldwide by more than $100 million.

Which animal-rights group gave James Gunn its Not a Number Award for Guardians Vol. 3?

PETA gave Gunn the award for his unflinching scenes of animal testing, saying that through Rocket he had put a face, a name and a personality on laboratory animals.

For which Oscar was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 nominated at the 96th Academy Awards?

Best Visual Effects was its one nomination, as it had been for Vol. 2; the Oscar went to Godzilla Minus One, whose effects were the work of just 35 artists.

James Gunn was reluctant to make Guardians Vol. 3 without which actor, whose character had already died?

Michael Rooker's Yondu died saving Quill in Vol. 2, and Gunn, who had cast him in all his films, still refused to resurrect him, saying it would nullify the sacrifice.

In a shot echoing The Creation of Adam, Warlock saves which Guardian from freezing in space?

Star-Lord freezes while leaping for Knowhere, and the outstretched finger that reaches him belongs to Warlock, who opened the film by attacking the Guardians.