"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" Wraps Production

Production wrapped on Marvel Studios’ long-awaited and highly-anticipated movie “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”.

Director James Gunn shared the news on social media, saying: “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,”.

"After over 100 days of shooting & over 3000 shots, this is the slate for the final shot of #GotGVol3, presented to me by the camera crew. It was an easy shot of Rocket seated, 1st with @thejudgegunn, & then nothing there, & took everything in me not to break down sobbing on the spot.," he added.

Gunn pointed out that the majority of the last ten years of his life have been spent working on and thinking about the Guardians, noting: "I still have a long road ahead of me with VFX & editing, but it was still momentous to me,".

He continued: "It is somewhat simple to explain to others how much I love this cast & crew. It is more difficult to explain how much I love these characters - that I see them as parts of myself & parts of those I love, & filming them, & writing their words, is a way of expressing that love,".

"Again, I’ll still be working with them over the next year until release, but shooting that last shot was a reminder of the warm impermanence of life & love, & how that impermanence makes it so precious, so valuable, & is a good reason to be grateful for what I have right now,".

The franchise launched in 2014 and followed Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) a bounty hunter who steals a powerful orb and finds himself pursued by the ruthless Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace).

The journey saw him forming an alliance with several misfits – Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Drax (Dave Bautista).

The misfits teamed up to save the galaxy after discovering the true power of the orb and the threat it represents to the galaxy.

Pom Klementieff, who plays Mantis, joined the Guardians in the second installment, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.

The franchise has gone on to be very successful and a fan-favorite addition to the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU).

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” features Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn, who have all appeared in previous installments in the franchise.

It will also star Sylvester Stallone as well as newcomers Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji.

The third installment, directed by American filmmaker James Gunn, began production in November 2021.

Gunn had previously revealed that the upcoming installment will contain a major death.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is scheduled to debut on May 5, 2023.

Moreover, the Guardians are also set to be featured in “Thor: Love and Thunder“, which debuts on July 8.

Most members of the Guardians cast are also set to star in a 40-minute special inspired by the 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special”.

The Holiday Special hits Disney+ in December 2022 and serves as a precursor to “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”.