Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3"s Long Runtime Is Great News For The MCU

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is shaping up to be one of the longest films in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe--which is a very good sign. The upcoming sequel from director James Gunn has been revealed as the longest film in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, bringing the series to an epic and emotional ending. However, Guardians 3's extended runtime is also a steep departure from other recent films in the MCU, many of which appear to be cut short by the time they hit theaters, which may be a good sign when it comes to the film's quality.
In recent weeks, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's runtime was confirmed to be about 2 hours and 29 minutes, which would make it one of the longest films in MCU. The reported runtime would tie with Avengers: Infinity War for the fourth-longest film in the franchise, only running shorter than Eternals, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Avengers: Endgame. Set to hit theaters on May 5, Guardians 3 has an uphill fight after poor reviews for its immediate predecessor in the MCU, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Nevertheless, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy sequel is shaping up to be a worthy addition to the MCU.
How Phase 4 & Phase 5 Have Suffered From Short Movie Runtimes Phase 4 and Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have included films with runtimes too short to adequately explore their subject matter. Although Phase 4 featured several of Marvel's longest films to date, most of the post-Endgame movies have adhered very closely to the two-hour mark. Short runtimes are not always an issue but can become so when good content is left cut, leaving films to conclude without exploring their most interesting angles. For example, Thor: Love and Thunder's 1 hour and 59 minutes barely scratched the surface of Gorr's rampage against the gods, with multiple deleted scenes featuring the villain reportedly left on the cutting room floor.
With the exception of Eternals, the runtime of Marvel's Multiverse Saga content has a correlation with how the film was received both by critics and audiences. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Love and Thunder, and Quantumania were all within six minutes of the two-hour mark and received mixed-to-negative reviews and diminishing box office returns. On the other hand, longer films that approached the two-and-a-half-hour mark, including Spider-Man: No Way Home and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, were generally better received and earned more at the box office. While not the only sign of a film's quality, Marvel has had better fortune with its longer content in recent years.