James Gunn explains why the rest of us haven't seen that 'Guardians of the Galaxy' trailer from SDCC

San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H is a world-famous spot for pop culture news drops, so much so that even if you can't make it to Comic-Con, you can follow along with pretty much everything going on in the room if you're just keeping tabs on the right Twitter accounts. But some things still fall under the umbrella of Hall H exclusives, at least at first, and for now the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer is one of them. 

Writer/director James Gunn and the cast of the much-anticipated conclusion of the Guardians trilogy unveiled the trailer during Marvel Studios' massive Hall H panel at Comic-Con on Saturday night, surprising the crowd with the first footage from the return of the Guardians in the wake of Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. While other trailers from the evening, including footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, hit Marvel's social media and YouTube channels immediately after they screened in Hall H, Guardians Vol. 3 held back. Now, Gunn has explained why. 

After fans reached out on social media throughout Sunday asking when the general public would get to see the teaser trailer, Gunn responded via Twitter to explain what's going on. It turns out it's fairly simple: Showing a just-made teaser to a Comic-Con audience one time is one thing, but releasing it to a fan base that's going to scrutinize every single frame for months on end is another. 

"I wish you could have [seen it] too. But it’s not just Marvel, it’s also me," Gunn wrote. "Although I love the teaser some VFX aren’t where I’d want them to be for repeated views & close inspection - remember we didn’t wrap long ago - so you’ll have to wait just a beat! Sorry!"

According to those who were in the room, including our own Mike Avila, the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer focused on a few key elements of the Guardians story, including Peter's (Chris Pratt) attempts to connect with a past version of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who has no memory of their time together, and doesn't even seem to remember his name. There was also substantial focus on Rocket's (Bradley Cooper) backstory, and the whole affair was set to The Flaming Lips classic "Do You Realize?" The trailer reveal was an especially emotional moment for the Guardians cast, who came back together after delays to make the third film, which is now billed as the final chapter in their story as a team. 

As for when we might see the teaser, Gunn didn't offer an exact timeline, but don't expect to wait too long. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due in theaters May 5, 2023, less than a year from now, and we don't even have to wait that long for another Guardians story. The same cast will return for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special this holiday season on Disney+. 

Click here for SYFY WIRE’s full coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2022.

Looking for more superhero action in the meantime? Peacock is streaming Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin right now.