Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is now in theaters, broke a record, but probably not one you were thinking of. With more than 22,500 pieces used, the latest addition to the MCU now holds the record for most prosthetics, according to Variety.
- The astronomical 22,542 prosthetics used for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 breaks a record set by Hot the Grinch Stole Christmas.
- On top of those 22,542 prosthetics, the crew also used 500 wigs and 130 facial hairpieces to make this film.
- It also took a team of 75 makeup artists to create the looks you see on screen, and sometimes even more than 90 would be hard at work.
- One character in particular, the villainous High Evolutionary, needed a great deal of work for his look to come together.
- Makeup head Alexei Dmitriew explained the rationale for the character’s look in the film:
- “James Gunn really wanted to make sure we kept the integrity of [Chukwudi Iwuji] himself and his acting. James wanted to make sure that we got to see all the nuances of his performance.”
- That desire led to a hybrid look for a character who wore a mask but still had his own face on display throughout the film.
- Iwuji underwent a process that included two prosthetic pieces and a headpiece being “blended into my skin. They pulled the prosthetic back into the helmet so it looked like it was my skin being pulled.”
- Iwuji also said the process initially took just under two hours but after a couple of sessions, it was down to 70-75 minutes.
- As for the human-animal hybrids featured in the film, Dmitriew explains that they had “30 people in makeup, all with masks on with unique makeup.”
- Dmitriew also explained just how much went into turning those actors into the creatures we see on screen:
- “We had nails and bat fins, a nine-piece prosthetic makeup, a custom wig, contact lenses and teeth. All the characters had makeup at that level.
About Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3:
- In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, our beloved band of misfits are settling into life on Knowhere. But it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars:
- Chris Pratt as Peter Quill
- Zoe Saldana as Gamora
- Dave Bautista as Drax
- Karen Gillan as Nebula
- Pom Klementieff as Mantis
- Vin Diesel as Groot
- Bradley Cooper as Rocket
- Will Poulter as Adam Warlock
- Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha
- Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord
- Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri
- Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog
- Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary
- Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito and Nikolas Korda are executive producers on the film.
- David J. Grant and Simon Hatt are serving as co-producers.
- As with the Holiday Special, music for Volume 3 will be composed by John Murphy.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theaters. Check out Benji’s review of the film here.