“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Sets World-Record While Still Filming
Writer/director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn’t even done filming, yet that hasn’t stopped it from breaking a world record. Gunn himself reported that the makeup effects studio Legacy Effects, which is hard at work helping Gunn populate his intergalactic menagerie, have confirmed that Vol. 3 has broken the world record for the most makeup appliances ever created for a single production. Legacy Effects knows their stuff—they’ve won Emmys and Oscars and worked on epic blockbusters, including The Mandalorian, The Suicide Squad, Godzilla v Kong, and Avengers: Endgame—confirms that Vol. 3 topped the previous record-holder, Ron Howard’s 2000 film How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which featured nearly an entire cast in makeup effects.
Here’s Gunn’s tweet:
Just heard from our makeup folks at @LegacyEffects 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!
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 4, 2022
The use of practical effects has been a big part of the appeal of the Guardians franchise, which delights in the alien worlds and beings it depicts. While computer effects are of course crucial to this franchise (see; Groot and Rocket) and just about every other blockbuster, deploying real, tactile effects like we’ve seen in everything from Guardians to The Mandalorian to the most recent Star Wars trilogy gives these films and series a delightful, often dazzling boost.
With Vol. 3 using a world record number of makeup appliances, one has to wonder if we’ll be more deeply ensconced in alien cultures as the epic saga comes to a close. Gunn has a long history of delighting in practical effects, way back to his first film, the horror flick Slither. In Gunn’s latest effort, the HBO Max series Peacemaker (a spinoff of his first DC film, The Suicide Squad), there are practical effects galore.
For Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the little that we do know is that the film will feature the long-awaited arrival of Adam Warlock, played by MCU newcomer Will Poulter. Warlock will be an extremely formidable antagonist for our heroes, who return en masse—Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket the Raccoon, Vin Diesel voicing Groot, and Karen Gillan as Nebula. It’s one of 2023’s most hotly-anticipated films, and now that we know it’s already a record-breaker, and in such a cool way, it’s only that much more of a must-see.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. arrives on May 23, 2023.
For more on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, check out these stories:
James Gunn Confirms “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Ends The Cosmic Saga
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Has Begun Filming & Adam Warlock Has Arrived
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Has Not Quite Begun Filming (But Will Soon!)
Will Poulter Joins “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” As Adam Warlock
Featured image: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) ..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017
