Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Trailer Breakdown: 'We'll All Fly Away Together, One Last Time'

It seems like James Gunn is ready to make superhero fans across the globe cry their faces off because the trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is bringing equal parts hype hero action and devastating emotional moments that seem like audiences will be blubbering messes by the end of it. It's the final chapter for the galaxy's favorite intergalactic a-holes, following their recent appearance in "Thor: Love and Thunder" and the delightfully ridiculous "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special."

Set after the events of 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," (especially the post-credits teaser featuring Adam Warlock, the super-powerful being first introduced in the "Fantastic Four" comic books back in the 1960s), the second film in Marvel's Phase Five is likely the last we'll see of Peter "Star-Lord" Quill (Chris Pratt), this version of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper).

We already knew from Gunn's comments at the "Guardians of the Galaxy" panel during San Diego Comic-Con that a hearty chunk of "Vol. 3" would explore the past of Rocket Racoon, with the trailer flashback of a very cute baby Rocket backing up his claims. Gunn said at SDCC that Rocket is "the saddest creature in the universe," which might be true until people see "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" for themselves and potentially give the roughhousing raccoon a run for his title. Gunn surely has plenty of surprises up his sleeve before the film arrives in theaters but this incredible trailer all but guarantees this swan song will be one for the record books.

Peter Quill opens the trailer with a moving, motivational statement: "We were gone for quite a while but no matter what happens next, the galaxy still needs its Guardians." The crew arrives on a new, Earth-like planet, but the inhabitants are far from human. Sadly, Gamora is not with them, as she died in "Avengers: Infinity War."

A different version of Gamora from an alternate universe came to the central MCU universe via the events of "Avengers: Endgame," but now, the Guardians, hoping to reunite with ANY version of their lost friend, are searching for her. For Drax, this means pelting a New Men child in the face with a ball on Counter-Earth and inciting a rock fight with the land's inhabitants. I guess that's one way to make a connection with an alien race and hopefully gain new information.

Speaking of Gamora, we don't see a whole lot of her in the trailer. It's clear that at some point the Guardians achieve their internal mission of finding her, as she's seen helping Mantis carry Drax out of a situation where he looks to have been hit in the chest by something, but there are also shots of her holding a polaroid (what's on it?!), drawing a weapon, and an epic shot of the original team (plus Mantis and Nebula) walking away in unison from a fire. It'll be interesting to see how the crew interacts with this "new" Gamora in a more in-depth role.

The trailer also gives us our best look yet at Will Poulter's Adam Warlock, a major character in the Marvel comic books who originally played a huge role in the "Infinity Gauntlet" and "Infinity War" miniseries. Comic fans were a bit confused when Warlock wasn't included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films of "Avengers: Infinity War" or "Avengers: Endgame," especially after learning he was supposed to be a major player in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Warlock is shown with a jewel in the middle of his forehead, which in the comics was an Infinity Stone. Considering this is supposed to take place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," we'll have to wait and see what the purpose of the gem will be in this film. Maybe the gem is an Infinity Stone, and "Guardians Vol. 3" will be the latest MCU film to play around with timelines in the multiverse.

All of the scenes with Adam Warlock show him independently, with the exception of one shot that shows him pinning Nebula to the ground and punching her square in the face. As the character has played both the hero and occasional villain in the comics, it's unclear how he will function in this film. The end credits scene from "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" showed Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) presenting a gold growth chamber with a being she crafted specifically to destroy the Guardians, so it's likely that Adam Warlock will be the secondary antagonist of the film. However, given the much greater threat at hand, it won't be surprising if Adam Warlock has a change of heart and eventually joins the Guardians to take down the High Evolutionary.

It's been known for a few months that "Peacemaker" star Chukwudi Iwuji was joining "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" as antagonist the High Evolutionary, but the trailer is the first look at his terrifying presence outside of his appearance at San Diego Comic-Con when he showed up in person ... and in costume. The High Evolutionary is the villainous name for Doctor Herbert Wyndham, a geneticist who focuses on creating human/animal hybrids typically called "New Men." As was previously noted, the Guardians open the trailer by arriving on a planet inhabited by aliens, all of which resemble humans with the heads and limbs of different animals. It's safe to assume that the Guardians' arrival on Counter-Earth will interrupt whatever plans the High Evolutionary is in the middle of pursuing.

This is purely speculative, but given his penchant for modifying genetics, the Guardians may see the High Evolutionary modify what's left of Ego and the severed Celestial head of Knowhere to recreate a Celestial, or worse, bring Super-Ego into the fold. Now, the High Evolutionary will need a heck of a lot of power to pull off a stunt that big and would need something like, say, the potential remaining energy inside the Anulax Batteries Rocket used to make a bomb inside Ego's core during "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

Something big is happening with Rocket, and no one in the galaxy is emotionally ready for it. Nebula recently gave Rocket the Christmas gift to end all Christmas gifts in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special," which will almost certainly come into play during "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," for better or worse. Rocket is responsible for many of the emotional lines in this trailer, including telling Peter Quill, "Pete, I'm done running." It's been implied that Rocket was created as the result of animal testing, which has always been a sore spot for the team's smallest hothead.

In the comics, Rocket comes from a planet in the Keystone Quadrant that serves as an abandoned colony for the mentally ill and their genetically manipulated animal companions. It's hard to know how much of this story Gunn will keep and how much will be changed for the MCU, but Gunn has made it clear that this film's arc is the plan he's had for Rocket Raccoon from the very beginning.

The trailer also shows a brief shot of Rocket hugging Lady Lylla, a wise otter who is Rocket's soulmate in the comics. The voice of Lady Lylla has yet to be announced, but this could be the character Gunn was teasing when the film wrapped principal photography a few months back. We know from the shot of Baby Rocket that the film will feature flashbacks, so it's unclear whether or not Lylla will appear in a flashback or be introduced to Rocket in the current timeline. Regardless, it's sure to be emotionally devastating, and given the inclusion of the animal hybrid New Men of the High Evolutionary, perhaps he will provide the painful answers to Rocket's history.

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" films have been riddled with pop culture references from the very beginning, with even the "Volume" names referencing the mixtapes Peter Quill has made of his favorite music. While the San Diego Comic-Con teaser boasted the song "Do You Realize?" by The Flaming Lips, the new trailer has "In the Meantime" by the band Spacehog. The song feels right at home with the "Guardians" soundtrack, and in a weirdly meta coincidence (or knowing Gunn, an intentional decision), the song was the lead single off the band's album, "Resident Alien." This song was tailor-made to be in a "Guardians" movie.

Another interesting bit of pop culture fun occurs when the Guardians jump out of the ship in colorful space suits that look a lot like the ones from Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Plenty of fans online have also noted that the suits look a lot like those in the video game "Among Us," but, uh, those suits are also a reference to Kubrick's film.

Most importantly, there are a few shots of Quill, Mantis, and Rocket all crying out in agony. It seems as if someone might be saying their last farewell, but it's not exactly clear who. With James Gunn leaving Marvel to co-lead the film, TV, and animation division over at DC, it's also quite possible that all of the Guardians will be saying their goodbyes because, as Rocket says in the trailer, "We'll all fly away together, one last time, into the forever ... that beautiful sky."

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.