Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 has officially wrapped. Following a number of individual sign-offs from cast members, director James Gunn shared a “wrap photo” on Twitter of himself with some of the cast as they completed principal photography on his final Guardians movie. While there is little doubt that the group will be back together at some point to go through a few compulsory reshoots later in the year, for now filming on the latest future Marvel blockbuster is done.

Having been delayed by a combination of Disney’s firing and subsequent rehiring of James Gunn and the Covid pandemic, it has been a long journey for the Guardians of the Galaxy’s third outing, the filming of which also incorporated the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. While the team will be seen this summer as part of Thor: Love and Thunder, next summer’s movie will see the return of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Sean Gunn, as well as the inclusion of franchise newcomers Chukwudi Iwuji and Will Poulter.

Gunn wrote on his Twitter account, “And that’s a picture wrap on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. I love this amazing cast & crew & their beautiful talent & kind souls. I’m a lucky human to have them on the journey with me for nearly a decade.” He also followed this up with a second photo of Zoe Saldana, who was not in the group photo, and an “unannounced actor”.

Related:Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Set Photos Reveal New Comic Accurate Costumes

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 Is the End Of An Era In Many Ways

The guardians standing inside their ship, all looking at someone past the camera.
Marvel Studios
Disney

Wrapping Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is the end of an era in many ways for Gunn and the cast of the movie. Although there is never anything certain in the world of Marvel movies, it seems like this is the end of the road for both Gunn and possibly a few of the Guardians characters too. Dave Bautista has not been subtle in hinting that this could be his last time playing Drax the Destroyer in the franchise, and after wrapping filming last week Nebula actress Karen Gillan confessed that she doesn’t know whether this will be her last time in the role either.

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies were one of the those that almost managed to completely stand outside any MCU overarching narrative when they were originally released, but as things progressed, it became apparent that both movies have a lot of ties to the MCU’s other storylines, from being one of the first movies to introduce an Infinity Stone and Thanos, to the inclusion of the more cosmic side of the MCU that would later come in to play with Eternals. The third Guardians movie will no doubt continue to build deeper connections within the MCU, especially with the introduction of Adam Warlock, who was teased in the post-credit scene of Guardians 2.

However, there is a long way to go before that movie arrives next May, and before then Star-Lord and the gang will be back in Thor: Love and Thunder this summer, and the Guardians Holiday Special this December. Meanwhile, James Gunn seems to now be very well established at Warner Bros, with his involvement in Peacemaker Season 2 and the newly announced Amanda Waller series set to keep him busy for the foreseeable future.