Quite possibly saying farewell to Star-Lord, Chris Pratt has completed his work on the upcoming Marvel sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. On social media, director James Gunn recently revealed that principal photography has been completed on the film. Pratt has since made his own wrap announcement by posting to Twitter an image of the cake he was welcomed with by his family when he arrived home from the set.
James Gunn wrote and directed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was previously delayed after a sabbatical from Marvel Studios. It stars Pratt as part of an ensemble that also includes Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, and Will Poulter. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper also provide voiceover work, reprising their respective roles as Groot and Rocket.
As of now, James Gunn has no plans to develop any further Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so this third installment of the trilogy will mark the end of an era. But it won't be just another movie that fans can look forward to. Gunn also took the opportunity to shoot a separate project on the set with all of the cast together. Coming to Disney+ for the holidays, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will have Star-Lord and the gang ringing in the Christmas season in a special way. Gunn has been open about being a fan of the Star Wars Holiday Special which may have inspired his decision to give the Guardians franchise the same treatment.
Chris Pratt Will Always Be the MCU's Star-Lord
There has been some recent controversy related to Chris Pratt over his rumored beliefs as a member of a particular church. James Gunn has stood by the actor, taking to social media to shut down the rumors as nothing more than internet gossip. Gunn also declared that Pratt would always be the MCU's Star-Lord, as he would not be recasting that role despite any social media backlash.
In response to one Pratt critic demanding the recasting, Gunn said, "For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”
"He isn’t," Gunn told someone else alleging Pratt to be a part of a "homophobic" church. "I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, 'yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!')"
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on May 5, 2023. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is expected to start streaming on Disney+ this coming holiday season with an exact date yet to be announced.