Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

James Gunn made 600 versions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

By Blair Marnell May 4, 2023

Do you love any film enough to watch it 600 times? Because according to The Hollywood Reporter, director James Gunn has created 600 unique versions of his final Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, there’s no need to freak out and try to watch every single version. Gunn didn’t change any scenes or plot points between them. Instead, this effort was meant to ensure that movie lovers will get to see the film in the best aspect ratio possible in any given theater.

If 600 versions sound like a lot, keep in mind that James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water reportedly had 1,065 versions in theaters all over the world. Gunn’s Guardians variations are a record for a Marvel movie, and he apparently played with the way the aspect ratio will change during the movie itself. For example, the first 45 minutes of the movie was shot in a flat 1.85 aspect ratio, while the remaining parts of the film are in a 2.39 ratio. This means that Gunn specifically picked moments in the later part of the movie where the action on-screen will appear to get bigger.

The cast of Guardians of the Galaxy.

“Because [Gunn’s] got this extra real estate, he essentially said, ‘I’m gonna pop in and out creatively [and you’ll] suddenly see something more immersive and bigger that’s going to fill your screen,'” explained Disney’s Evan Jacobs. “[Gunn] designed it and he shot and framed for it [with this in mind]. That was his creative intention … Sometimes [the aspect ratio expands with] the music, sometimes it’s what’s happening [on-screen], sometimes it’s whatever.”

“It’s definitely the most complex delivery Marvel’s ever done,” added Jacobs. “[It gives] every exhibitor in the United States, and in most international territories, [the ability to] maximize their screen size for the audience. So wherever you go to see it, you’re gonna see the best version.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 begins preview screenings tonight before officially opening tomorrow, May 5.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…

Entertainment

Guardians of the Galaxy never needed the MCU to be successful

Star-Lord leads the Guardians of the Galaxy as they walk out of a spaceship in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Before James Gunn moves entirely to DC, he has one last ride to fulfill with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn will premiere Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 this week, finalizing the trilogy he began nearly 10 years ago with the unexpected box-office hit and critical darling Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn single-handedly raised one of Marvel's most obscure teams into the mainstream, turned Chris Pratt into a star -- for a while, anyway -- and launched the cosmic corner of the MCU with a healthy dose of humor and an overabundance of heart.

The Guardians movies are silly and funny, with several large-scale set pieces of flashy lights and boom-boom-pows meant to fulfill the MCU quota. But there's an emotional center to them -- it's not just a collection of characters in tight spandex jumping around, but a group of well-defined, three-dimensional figures relating to one another while saving the universe. In many ways, the Guardians trilogy is everything the MCU should be, to the point where it's not an overstatement to say these films would've succeeded with or without the Marvel connection -- if anything, the MCU needs them more than they need it.
Heart meets stupid

Entertainment

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 introduces Marvel’s best villain since Thanos

The High Evolutionary stands up in a red-walled room in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Nowadays, it’s not all that controversial to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been stuck in a bit of a rut for the past few years. In the wake of the climactic high that it hit with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has repeatedly struggled to consistently deliver films and TV shows that feel as cohesive as the titles that built up the studio’s reputation in the first place. That hasn’t been due to a lack of trying, either. In just the past four years, Marvel has released around 20 new feature films and Disney+ MCU shows.

While opinions may vary about the MCU’s latest offering, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the general consensus surrounding the James Gunn-directed film seems fairly positive right now. At the very least, many seem to agree that it’s the first MCU film in quite a while that feels like it was actually made with real, palpable amounts of love and passion. It also, notably, introduces the most memorable and compelling villain who has shown up in the MCU since Josh Brolin’s Thanos was dusted out of existence in Endgame.

Entertainment

The best songs in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, ranked

best songs in guardians of the galaxy movies ranked babygroot dance

The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has always had an intense connection to music, and director James Gunn really knows how to incorporate Star-Lord's classic '70s and '80s bangers into his movies. Whether it be for emotional effect or cool factor, the needle drop is an extremely important aspect of Gunn's filmmaking in the series.

A needle drop, unlike a film's original score, is when a movie uses a pre-existing recording of a song as either background music or music in the scene itself. When music or sound is in the scene itself — as in the characters we are watching can also hear the sound — it is characterized as diegetic sound. Nondiegetic sound is the opposite; only we as viewers can hear it. In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and TV shows, Quill's Awesome Mixes are used both diegetically and nondiegetically to great effect. Gunn's needle drops allow him to inject scenes with emotional weight, reveal something about our characters, or create a lively scene that matches the goofy tone of the Guardians.
8. Creep by Radiohead, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3