Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters in just under six weeks and is expected to pack an emotional punch as it will serve as a farewell to this particular group of Guardians. The threequel has a lot to accomplish including making good on Vol. 2′s Adam Warlock tease, introducing a new villain in Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary, killing off a Guardian or so and fitting whatever surprises Gunn has in store into its runtime. Whether it runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes or 3 hours and 2 minutes, we know that somewhere on social media, it’ll be criticized for being too short. But how long will the film be?
According to Atom Tickets, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to be the longest film of the trilogy–and the longest of Gunn’s directorial career–clocking in at 2 hours and 29 minutes. Once that news got out in the wild, it was only a matter of time before Gunn, who continues to be incredibly active on social media even as he continues on in his new role as co-chair of DC Studios, addressed it. And, as it turns out, that runtime is in the ballpark.
“It’s around that long, although that’s not yet exact,” said Gunn when asked if the reported runtime was accurate before adding, “and I promise not a second is wasted.” “There’s no fat,” Gunn said of Vol. 3’s plot explaining that “It was necessary to experience the full arc for every major Guardians character, not only for this film, but for the trilogy (or, I should say, trilogy plus).“
Gunn went on to explain that “It’s just the length of end credits that are being estimated in this running time.” The end credits of Marvel Studios’ films, of course, famously feature mid and post-credit scenes and depending on how many there are, the length of those credits will vary. While one or two is the norm, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had five stingers spread out throughout and after the credits rolled. Whatever the case, Gunn’s made it clear that the film will clock in around two and a half hours long making it one of the five longest MCU films and significantly longer than the average MCU film, which clocks in at 2 hours and 12 minutes.
