New Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Super Bowl trailer released after The Flash

Fans of the ragtag group of interstellar heroes get to see more of Rocket Raccoon's past. Affectionately being referred to by fans as "Baby Rocket", viewers learn how the anthropomorphic tech expert gained his sentience via the machinations of the High Evolutionary.

On that note, we finally get to see Chukwudi Iwuji in full High Evolutionary regalia and hear a few choice lines from the villain. On the surface, it seems that the High Evolutionary seeks to create a utopian society, but Rocket (Bradley Cooper) disputes that claim. As Rocket shares his own past experiences, we also get a better look at the chunkier Groot (Vin Diesel), who is a lot more massive than when his predecessor from the 2014 GotG movie.

If there was one key element missing from the new trailer, it is clarity of what role Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) will be playing in the plot. There were no new scenes or plot details shown with the cosmic-powered agent of the Sovereigns (last seen in GotG Vol. 2), save for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it clash with Drax (Dave Bautista) and chunky Groot landing on him.

Another particularly interesting set of scenes is that of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) interacting with the rest of the Guardians. Previous teasers and trailers seemed to have been keeping her role in the movie a secret, but the new trailer reveals she is still distant from the team, as she is not the original version. Note that during Avengers: Endgame, it was the past version of Gamora that survived who did not have any prior experience with the Guardians, except for Nebula (Karen Gillan).

But it seems Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is still pining for his lost love, even though the Gamora that is still alive has no attachments to him or the rest of the group. And in a funny jab, Gamora says the version Peter Quill describes has more in common with Nebula. This leads to Quill looking at Nebula in a different light, to which Nebula responds by saying "Cut it out!" Will the film explore this potential romance?

That is certainly a possibility, but the rest of the trailer has a melancholic tone. This hints at the fact that this is the last entry of the film series, as director James Gunn had mentioned before. With his commitment to DC Studios as both Co-CEO and creative head (including writing scripts and possibly directing projects in the DC Universe slate), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will likely be the final appearance of this roster of the team. As the official description of the movie reads:

Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket's life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

After the cheerful atmosphere and resolution in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+, the third GotG movie feels like it will be an emotional finale.

Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hyperspeeds to its theatrical release on May 3, 2023.