Marvel Studios dropped a new look at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 during the Super Bowl on Sunday, setting MCU fans up for a tearful goodbye to Star-Lord and his intergalactic band of a-holes. But James Gunn peppers the bittersweet tease of the Guardians’ end — in their current incarnation, anyway — with the goofy bickering the team is known for.
In addition to some salty back-and-forth between Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), Gamora II, and Nebula, setting up a theoretical love triangle that no one could possibly believe in, there’s some serious drama. We see Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary callously transforming Rocket into the space rabbit we’ve grown to love over the past decade; Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock showing the destructive intensity of his superpowers; and Groot, Drax, Mantis, and Star-Lord kicking ass on that really gross organic space station. Plus, Nebula has a transforming arm now? It’s a sword? Cool.
Will Peter and Gamora II resolve their romantic differences? Will Rocket and Lylla the otter find happiness? Will anyone but Star-Lord survive the events of the Guardians’ third cinematic adventure? We’ll find out this May, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to hit theaters.
The third Guardians film is the last from Gunn, who has since moved over to Warner Bros. to co-lead DC Studios. Gunn and co-studio lead Peter Safran have plenty to keep them busy for the next 10 years, with five feature films and five television series based on DC superheroes in the works.