Empire exclusive covers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 revealed

It’s fitting, given Star-Lord’s love of Earth’s music, that Guardians of the Galaxy’s trajectory ends up mirroring that of classic bands. James Gunn’s unlikely group of cosmic heroes burst into the MCU with a dramatic and groundbreaking debut, before facing the task of living up to their own standards with a bigger, more experimental and exciting sequel. They’ve found time to team up with other heroes in supergroups like the Avengers. and last year Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special it was the equivalent of a fun holiday EP, sure to become a future staple to play every winter. Now we have come to the last album: the farewell album, his abbey road. Get ready to press play guardians of the galaxy vol. 3, another incredible mix of heart, heroism and colorful mayhem. Here begins the end of an era.

The new number of Empire Get an exclusive look at the final outing of this lineup of Guardians – and Gunn’s latest MCU film – which promises a deeply emotional sendoff for the group of A-holes that changed everything. Inside, we chatted with Gunn about his tumultuous years between Marvel and DC, and why he needed to come back for one last jam session with the Guardians. We also talk to cast members Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Karen Gillan and Sean Gunn about their loyalty to the director who brought them all together and what to expect from the final adventure. Plus, we meet Chukwudi Iwuji and Will Poulter, ready to inject new blood into the mix as creature-maker villain High Evolutionary and highly anticipated superstar Adam Warlock, respectively. All of that, and we’ve got a ton of never-before-seen footage from the film. It’s a true Greatest Hits package.

This month’s newsstand cover features the classic lineup of Guardians back in action, each in their own extravagant new outfits, save for Gamora…

And our subscriber-exclusive explosive coverage shows Rocket Raccoon springing into action in a kinetic explosion of colorful graffiti, illustrated for Empire by Mexifunk, aka Orlando Arocena.

All of that, and this issue is filled with more hits. Let’s take a first look at Aardman’s new short for Star Wars: Visions; We’re getting really scary with Rob Savage’s Stephen King adaptation bogeyman; Let’s go down the rabbit hole with Ari Aster’s fantastic new film handsome is scared; we dived under the sea to see the new version of Disney The little Mermaid; We hang out with Bill Hader a lot as he gets ready to say hello berry; Also, we have new looks on x fast AND Gran Turismodiscuss Spider-Punk with Daniel Kaluuya and dive into the epic fan campaign to bring back warrior nun. It’s so stacked that it’s practically a double album.

Turn on your Zune and head to your local newsstand to pick up the issue when it hits shelves on Thursday, April 16, or become a Empire member now to access the full issue on launch day. You can too pre-order the number online now here. guardians of the galaxy vol. 3 arrives in UK cinemas from 3 May.