The argument regarding practical and visual effects has been raging for years. Many believe the industry currently over relies on VFX, leading to messy final products like Black Panther's last act. They also fear that practical effects are in danger given how easy it is to just go with computer-generated images. Thankfully, there are at least two franchises helping keep the practice alive: Star Wars and The Guardians of the Galaxy.
For Star Wars, the immensely popular The Mandalorian has made it a point to use practical effects whenever possible. Nearly all of the different alien species are brought to life with complex makeup applications, rigs, and puppetry. It's a practice that is clearly important for the creatives bringing the world of the series to life—through the show certainly doesn't shy away from creatively using VFX when needed.
As for Guardians, many might not immediately equate them with practical effects. After all, Vol. 2 had an insane amount of VFX shots, so on the surface, it seems that the CGI avenue was the one of choice. However, the project also featured dozens of aliens sporting various practical enhancements, alongside impressive makeup jobs in order to make everything more lifelike.
Well, now it looks like fans hoping for more practical effects are about to get even more excited for James Gunn's third outing with everyone's favorite band of misfits.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Beat a Record
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn took to Twitter to announce a new milestone for his upcoming sequel.
According to the director, the movie "officially passed the World Record for 'the most makeup appliances created for a single production," surpassing Jim Carrey's 2000 holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas:
"Just hear from our makeup folks at Legacy Effects that yesterday #GotGVol3 officially passed the World Record for" the most makeup appliances created for a single production" (surpassing The Grinch). Congrats, guys! Thanks for keeping practical effects alive."
How the Grinch Stole Christmas actually won Best Makeup at the 2001 Academy Awards. Jim Carrey wore his Grinch makeup for 92 days during the production, a getup that originally took 8.5 hours to get in—thankfully for Carrey, the process was refined to 2.5 hours by the end of the production. That's not to mention the various citizens of Whoville who were also in prosthetics of some sort throughout the movie.
With Guardians 3's new makeup record, fans can expect to see loads of prosthetics-assisted characters throughout the entirety of the movie.
The Grinch Beaten by Guardians 3
When it comes to VFX vs. practical effects, the best solution is a healthy mix of both. Both avenues work best when they complement each other, something both Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy are proof of.
But why would Vol. 3 have so many? Well, the answer to that likely lies with who the main villain is rumored to be: The High Evolutionary. In the comics, the cosmic being is known for his experiments with gene splicing, often creating hybrid beings; people such as Rocket himself.
So these many applications could easily belong to those citizens of High Evolutionary's planet of Halfworld. As for who will be bringing the antagonist to life, Peacemaker's Chukwudi Iwuji is supposedly the lucky actor to do so. Fingers crossed he'll make quite the impression when his performance hits screens worldwide on May 5, 2023.
