The MCU might not want to admit it, but the recent failings of Doctor Strange, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have put the entire cinematic universe in jeopardy. Now, most fans are looking toward James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to redeem this streak of middling releases, yet Kevin Feige isn’t inclined to treat this movie any differently from the rest of his creations.
In less than two weeks, the galaxy’s most chaotic gang of misfits is making a return for one last outing. Star-Lord and his crew will be going up against their biggest enemy yet, a villain whom you’ll almost immediately despise according to Gunn, so if it’s stakes Marvel fans want, it’s not going to get any higher than this. At least not until Kang shows up again to threaten the entire universe in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Besides, James Gunn is a seasoned filmmaker who understands his craft, so if there’s anyone who can save the MCU from itself, it’s the only director who has never had a miss in the superhero genre.
As for Kevin Feige, the MCU boss remains unfazed over the pressure Guardians 3 is under at the moment, claiming in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter that the company treats every release like its biggest one to date.
“Every release we have means everything to us,” He said. “We still are the people that remember when we only had one or two movies a year where we just put all our chips in. That’s what every film is for us. And this in particular is extra emotional because of the journey with James.”
Feige is obviously trying to keep up appearances, but the man must be fighting recurrent panic attacks as we inch closer to the release weekend. Even James Gunn admits “superhero fatigue” is a real phenomenon, so the threequel could fail even in spite of a decent critical reception.
Get those tissues ready, because Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is opening in theaters on May 5.