The final installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is on its way and is already being toted as an emotional send-off for the group based on the trailers. The Guardians look set to take one last journey together, and now we know exactly how long that journey will be.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will act as the last film for the team as we know it, and though it may be a given that characters will appear again in the future of the MCU, fans are more than certain that we will be saying goodbye to at least one of its members (we thought that in Ant-Man though, and we were all wrong there). With James Gunn ending his reign over the franchise and focusing on his role as the new co-Head of DC Studios, all he has told us so far in regards to the runtime is that it will be longer than both the first and second movies.
The third entry will indeed set a new runtime record for the franchise, as we have come to learn that the film is set to run for two hours and 29 minutes according to ticket seller Atom Tickets.
The first Guardians of the Galaxy film lasted two hours and two minutes, with Vol. 2 coming in just a little longer at two hours and 17 minutes. The Holiday Special was of course rather short at only 44 minutes long, and let’s not forget the adorably cute shorts featuring our favorite talking tree in I am Groot, with each episode having a runtime of only five to six minutes long.
This longer runtime for the franchise-closing film places it amongst the top four longest films in the MCU, tying with Avengers: Infinity War for the number four position. Films such as Eternals, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Avengers: Endgame still boast longer run times and a higher percentage of people crossing their legs in desperation during their theatrical running.
The reason for the film being so long is likely so Marvel can do justice to these characters, as we know we will be saying goodbye to Dave Bautista’s Drax as well as delving into the torturous past of Rocket. At the same time, we’ll be introduced to new characters such as Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary. In order to do all this, it is no surprise that we’re in for a lengthier than usual film.
