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Before James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 brings the Marvel Studios’ trilogy to a close, Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with the writer-director about an exclusive clip we get to share with you entitled “Naming.” In the clip, we meet three new characters, one of which is the otter we see with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in the trailer, who share an emotional moment together. During their discussion, Gunn explains the importance of what we see in the clip, who these critters are, how they were brought to life, and how they tie into Vol. 3. All we have to say is, grab some tissues, friends. The minute-and-a-half snippet shows four animals lying in separate enclosures. Their cages are bleak and otherwise empty, save for the hope the four animals share as they stare up at the ceiling, envisioning their future in “the new world.” These new critters are, according to Gunn, Lylla the Otter (voiced by Linda Cardellini), Teefs the Walrus (Asim Chaudhry), and Floor the Rabbit (Mikaela Hoover). A bizarre group of animals, for sure, and Gunn tells Weintraub, “They’re best friends… and I think it's a really beautiful scene with them… where they talk about going outside into the sky, in the world, which they've never experienced.” This exclusive clip is a big moment for the four friends because up until this point, the mysterious “sire,” referred only to them by their assigned titles like Lylla’s 89Q12. We also see that each of them has undergone serious procedures, leaving them with robotic appendages and fixtures to varying degrees. Gunn points out that in Floor’s case, “Her little rabbit legs don't work, they just dangle there, and she's got these big metal spider legs growing out of her, and this mouth plate that is a speaker that her voice comes out of, but she's adorable.” No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Even this brief scene is hard to stomach! Aside from how miserable their surroundings are, it’s clear from the trailers that this Guardians of the Galaxy is taking a dark turn. We knew the end of the trilogy would be tough, but rest assured that no matter what the critters endure, Weintraub was quick to have Gunn clarify that “no real animals were ever harmed in the movie.” He went on to say: “And in fact, I was very, very careful about what we see in terms of animals being hurt because it is something I'm incredibly squeamish about, and people are squeamish about. So I think the difficult stuff to watch in the movie – and there is some difficult stuff at times – is because of the idea of what's happening more than what you actually see. You don't see very much, in terms of violence or harm to animals, but you do see these little animals, the results of which are not the most beautiful, but somehow they're extraordinarily cute.“ For interviews, movie reviews, and more visit FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
