Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn revealed that the Guardians' third MCU movie will set a new record with its lengthy runtime.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 looks to send the team of intergalactic misfits on their most emotional MCU adventure to date, which has been teased heavily in the threequel's first two trailers.
Tying in closely with their streaming special on Disney+ while introducing Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, the Guardians will have to pull out all the stops in order to keep their family together and save the cosmos from disaster.
And to do all that, the threequel will need an extended runtime so that all of these deep and impactful plot points can be explored in the most effective way possible.
Guardians 3 Will Set New Runtime Record
Replying to a fan question on Instagram, director James Gunn confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the longest movie in his MCU trilogy.
When asked to either confirm the movie's runtime or reveal if it's longer than the first two movies, Gunn replied that "It's longer than 1 & 2," although he didn't reveal exactly how long the threequel is.
For reference, 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy came in with a runtime of 2 hours and 2 minutes while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 clocked in at 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Last year's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ became the franchise's shortest outing at only 44 minutes.
Will a Long Runtime Help Guardians 3?
Looking at James Gunn's specific comments here, fans can likely expect Guardians of the Galaxy 3 to run anywhere between 2 hours and 20 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes, with a small chance that it could be even longer. Should it exceed that length, it would become one of the five longest movies in MCU history, coming close to recent Phase 4 outings like Eternals (2 hours, 36 minutes) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2 hours, 41 minutes).
While it's not shocking to see the movie's runtime come out to this length, MCU fans hope that it will be in service of a great story, particularly with all of the excitement and anticipation building for its debut.
This is a movie that has to address a number of lingering plot points, including Gamora's return to the team after Avengers: Endgame, the High Evolutionary's journey into villainy, and Rocket Raccoon's tragic backstory.
Even though Gunn will continue to tease new information about Guardians 3 in the weeks leading up to its debut, its official runtime will remain a mystery most likely until late March or early April. However, based on this comment alone, fans should expect to see the Guardians in one of the MCU's longest movies of the entire Multiverse Saga.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will arrive in theaters on May 5.
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