James Gunn Praised By PETA For Depictions of Animal Testing Cruelty in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has come under fire for its disturbing scenes of animal cruelty being too much for young audiences, animal rights group PETA has praised James Gunn’s final Marvel movie for “giving a face” to the plight of animals being used for testing purposes. The organization has given the director a Not Just a Number Award for showing scenes of “animal testing cruelty” in the latest movie of the MCU.

The new Guardians of the Galaxy movie has not held back when it comes to scenes in which franchise favorite Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper among others in the movie) is seen being tortured and experimented on by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), as Gunn delves into the traumatic past of the character. Some of the upsetting scenes have led to calls for the movie to have been given a higher certificate than PG-13, as it may all be too much for younger children. However, it seems that Peta feels that the huge audience the movie is being put in front of means more people will be forced to think about how some animals are treated when it comes to human product testing.

In a statement released by Lisa Lange, PETA Senior VP, she praised Gunn’s movie and celebrated the movie for showing animals as individuals with feelings. She said:

“Through Rocket, James Gunn has put a face, a name, and a personality on the millions of vulnerable animals being cycled through laboratories as we speak. Peta is celebrating this as the best animal rights film of the year for helping audiences see animals as individuals and suggesting that just because we can experiment on them doesn’t mean that we should.”

Related: James Gunn Considered Making a Rocket and Groot Spinoff Instead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

James Gunn Wanted To Make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to Tell Rocket’s Story.

Although there was a short time when it seemed James Gunn would not get to complete his Marvel trilogy, the director has spoken on a number of occasions about how this movie was always about Rocket. Discussing how he believed that he needed to come back to the franchise to tell this particular tale, Gunn previously said:

“The most important thing for me was Rocket’s story, and then, following that, everybody else. Rocket is the secret protagonist of the Guardians of the Galaxy and has always been the centre of it for me; and this is really fulfilling that. The reason I came back, and decided to do this movie, was because I really felt like Rocket’s story needed to be told – and it was left hanging after Vol 2. So that’s the most important thing. It’s also the ending of a trilogy. The first movie is about the mother; the second movie is about the father; and the third movie is about the self. And that is what this journey is…”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been gaining plenty of positive reviews, and has also set a new, more mature outlook for the MCU in general. It seems that no matter how the movie ends in terms of box office success, James Gunn has left a greater mark on the MCU than theatrical performance can match.