When this month is over, Spider-Man: No Way Home will make Spider-Man the fifth Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) property to have at least three films made about them. To date, there have been three movies about Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, respectively. There have also been four Avengers films. It is only a matter of time until other Marvel properties hit the trifecta, as well.The Guardians of the Galaxy are a motley crew of space dwellers who will have their team claim an MCU trilogy in the spring of 2023. The team of upstart adventurers first appeared on-screen in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, catapulting them from relative unknowns to A-list characters among the general public.Although other Marvel properties have had three movies or more to their names, the Guardians of the Galaxy is the first MCU title that will feel like a proper trilogy. This due to director continuity, the makeup and potential breakup of the current Guardians team, and more.
DIRECTOR CONTINUITY
Iron Man 3, the transition from Captain America: The First Avenger to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the entire Thor trilogy are great examples of what happens when a single director does not continue through a series. Iron Man 3 was a disappointment following Iron Man and The Avengers, completely wasting Iron Man’s greatest nemesis. Captain America: The First Avenger was a fairly campy film, and did not feature some of the more hard-boiled moments that made the next two Captain America films so memorable. Lastly, the Thor series is tonally inconsistent, wandering from serious to absurd and humorous.
Unlike some of the previously mentioned missteps, director James Gunn has brought a unique and consistent flavor to the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films. Their signatures are bright neon colors, seamless humor, and flawless music throughout.
Only Spider-Man will have the same director for three consecutive films besides Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn’s direction has been mostly faithful to recent Guardians of the Galaxy comic book runs while simultaneously making the movies their own magnificent beasts. The Guardians of the Galaxy films have his scent all over them, and he deserves the credit for bringing this formerly mysterious team into the public limelight.
FINAL MOVIE WITH THE CURRENT GUARDIANS TEAM
Recently, Gunn has stated that 2023’s film is most likely his final Guardians of the Galaxy project. Additionally, the acclaimed director said it is also most likely the final movie with the current makeup of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
If this is indeed the last time audiences see Star Lord, Gamora, Nebula, Groot, Drax, Rocket Racoon, and Mantis together, it will be bittersweet. However, viewers will have had nine years and five films with a swashbuckling crew that they might not have even known about before 2014. Sometimes, people do not know what is there until it is gone.
AVENGERS FILMS BETWEEN PREVIOUS MARVEL TRILOGIES
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Spider-Man all had their trilogies intertwined with Avengers team-up films. This created some tonal inconsistencies and confusion in the MCU. In Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man: 3, prominent MCU superheroes had already fought alongside each other in the events of The Avengers. However, no other Avengers show up to help Thor or Iron Man in their respective movies, despite potentially world-ending consequences in the films.
Captain America’s two latter films feature other Avengers, making them feel more like team-up films than Captain America solo adventures. They are fantastic films, but feel more like Avengers 1.5 and Avengers 2.5 than anything else. Spider-Man’s first two films are relatively cheery and family-friendly. However, two dark, brooding, space-epic Avengers films occurred in between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Although the Avengers films that take place between Guardians movies are tonally darker, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame work well for the scrappy space-bound team. Guardians films and the Russo brothers’ Avengers films are space epics, after all. Avengers arch-nemesis Thanos even made his first speaking appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy before he was introduced in his full glory and power in Avengers: Infinity War.
Furthermore, having the Guardians of the Galaxy appear in larger Avengers films does not dilute the team’s character’s arcs or journeys as much as they have for other MCU characters. This is because the Guardians of the Galaxy were already introduced as a team with two movies under their belts prior to their appearance in Avengers: Infinity War.
CLEANEST ORIGIN-TO-CONCLUSION ARC
The characters that make up the Guardians of the Galaxy are introduced in 2014, and remain a coherent team through the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. If the team does indeed break up, die, or otherwise dismantle in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it will be the cleanest origin-to-conclusion arc that Marvel Studios has put forward so far.
Iron Man’s trilogy concluded in 2013, but the character died on screen in 2019. Although his journey was satisfying, it lingered, making his story feel a little discombobulated. The character had appeared in more MCU films after his trilogy than he did during his trilogy, which is somewhat poor planning on the part of the movie studio.
Thor’s story is tonally inconsistent, and he might even hand over the mantle of Thor in the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder. Arguably the most valuable Avenger, Thor has had a great MCU journey, but not the cleanest one.
Captain America’s journey also ended in Avengers: Endgame. However, Steve Rogers passed the mantle of Captain America on to Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon. Technically, the character’s journey continues, just in the form of another man. Furthermore, Captain America: Civil War had so many superheroes in it that the film truly was sort of Avengers 2.5. Captain America has been the heart of the MCU since 2011, but the team-ups in his films and the fact that the mantle has been passed clutters his trilogy.
Lastly, there is Spider-Man. The Wall-Crawler was masterfully introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War. In the events of the first solo Spider-Man film in the MCU, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Iron Man is his mentor, and is far more seasoned at his duties than the high-school-age Spider-Man. However, between Spider-Man films, he was killed off by Thanos, only to reemerge five years later alongside half of the returned universe. These details in Spider-Man’s story make his trilogy feel intertwined and even reliant on other events and characters in the MCU.
If Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is indeed the last time audiences see this team on the silver screen, it should be a gorgeous and heartfelt farewell. James Gunn and company will have left Marvel a blueprint to follow for trilogies to come.
