Yesterday marks one year since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 released to cinemas, one year since we saw the swansong of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most beloved found family, and one year since comic book movie juggernaut James Gunn bid Marvel farewell for the more fantastical pastures of DC.
To the surprise of no one, however, Gunn’s Guardians memories remain as fresh in his head as they were when he first started making them back in 2012, when he was hired as director and co-writer of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. And perhaps it’s just because he’s a veteran tweeter at this point, but the heartfelt sentiment in his recent tribute post comes out in full here.
In the tweet above, Gunn was all too happy to reflect on the “wonderful journey with wonderful people” the he took during his time as the Guardians gaffer, referring to his fellow creatives on the films’ sets as “family,” people who had each others’ backs, and as people that he well and truly loves and misses.
Fans happily joined in on the heartfelt fanfare, recounting their own memories with Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and the rest of Gunn’s colorful cast of characters who remain the centerpieces of some of the MCU’s finest work to this day.
Between gearing up the future of DC’s next (and hopefully best) foray into live-action entertainment, getting the ball rolling on 2025’s Superman movie, and being subject to the bad mojo of the less-savory side of Zack Snyder’s fanbase, Gunn has more than earned a moment of fond, even teary-eyed reflection, and one can only hope that the magic he captures in Superman and beyond isn’t dissimilar to that of the Guardians trilogy.
All three Guardians of the Galaxy movies are streaming on Disney Plus. Superman, meanwhile, is due out in theaters on July 11, 2025.