Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 is the MCU’s latest release and it is well on its way to becoming the most successful film from Phase 5. As one of the most loved franchises from the MCU, the Guardians of the Galaxy films have a unique blend of action, emotion, and humour, all of which makes for a great experience for fans. Prior to the release of the third instalment in the series, there was worry that it won’t be able to avoid the “threequel curse” that has plagued many other trilogies.
The Threequel curse is one that a lot of trilogies are familiar with. This phenomenon occurs when the 3rd film in a series does not perform as well as the first 2 films in the series, which usually leads to a drop in profits from the box office as well as negative reactions from critics. It is akin to the law of diminishing returns but instead of economics, it happens to films. With the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 there had been worry about this trend, but the question now remains, does Vol 3 avoid the threequel curse?
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 Avoids The Threequel Curse With Its Perfect Ending
There are many ways the final film in a trilogy can fail. It is either a case of the story being too weak or feeling hurried. Sometimes the acting has fallen off, with viewers getting the sense that the actors feel frustrated by their roles. In some cases, it is the direction or the production. But not in the case of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3. The film rises to the standards that it had set in the first two films and somehow manages to pass those standards. From the beginning of the film, it is immediately apparent that the story explores deeper themes than it had done in the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1 and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.
However, the icing on the cake was the film’s ending. The ending of the film provided closure for all of the characters with a majority of the crew choosing to go their own way and find their own paths. This ending is the perfect closure for fans of the series, as it assures them that the characters they have grown to love actually end up in good spaces where they are safe.
How James Gunn’s Return to the MCU Saved this Film
In 2018, James Gunn was fired from the MCU by Disney. This was because of old tweets that had resurfaced where he had made sexually abusive comments. Gunn took responsibility for his tweets and said those comments did not define who he was when they came out. In spite of this, he was still fired. This caused the cast of Guardians Of The Galaxy to rally behind him. They released an open letter and made promises that they would quit if he did not return. In the event that they had gone ahead with their promise, the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 would be a very much different, and with a change in the series’ director and cast, a lot of things were bound to be different which would have harmed the direction of the films.
Also, Gunn had set out to ensure that this film did not fall prey to the curse. He had stated that he wanted to maintain a certain standard with the films. The story was one of the first things he set out to do right, and the process of writing the script for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 took much longer than it took for the first 2 films. This was just one of the things he did to ensure that the series’ final instalment was up to par with the first two films.
How Other MCU Movies Have Fared With the Curse
The MCU is no stranger to trilogies in the 16 years of its existence it has created several trilogies so far, they are Ironman which began the MCU, Spider-Man, Ant-Man and the Guardians Of The Galaxy, and more. The MCU trilogies have gone on to experience immense success and have been key parts of the overall MCU franchise. Interestingly, non of these have fallen prey to the curse, however, Antman’s most film, was not as successful commercially as its predecessors and this is for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with the story. It is safe to assume that the MCU may have perfected the formula for beating this curse. As they make more films and expand the franchise to take on more characters and storylines, as well as more trilogies, fans can rest assured that while there may be stories that do not hit all the right spots, the MCU takes care to produce stories and characters that resonate with viewers.
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