James Gunn confirms 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' is the franchise's last installment

James Gunn has a lot on his plate, but one item will soon(-ish) be taken off.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 is expected to hit theaters May 5, 2023, and it will serve as the final installment in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise.

"The movie is incredibly — it's big. I mean, it's so, so, so big and dark and different than what people might be expecting it to be," Gunn said during Deadline's "Hero Nation" podcast, calling in from the set in Atlanta, later adding, "This is the end for us. This is the last time people will this team of Guardians. That's where we are.

"I just want to be true to the characters, and I want to be true to the story, and I want to give people the wrap-up that they deserve for the story," the acclaimed filmmaker added. "That's always a little bit scary. I'm doing my best. I'm very aware that the third film in most trilogies just sucks. Not always, but usually, it does."

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy debuted in 2014 and sucked fans into the world of Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Ronan (Lee Pace) and more.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrived in 2017.