PETA praises Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an "animal rights masterpiece"

Baby Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy 3
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Peta has nothing but kind words for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Warning! Minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 below!

The final installment in James Gunn's Guardians trilogy explores the origin of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), depicting scenes of cruel torture at the hands of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

"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 Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said in a statement.

"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."

The film, which has been largely praised by critics, has knocked The Super Mario Bros. Movie out of its no. 1 spot at the global box office, bringing in over $282 million in its opening weekend.

For even more on Guardians of the Galaxy 3, see our interviews with Chris Pratt on a potential Star-Lord return and his belief that you’ll be surprised by how dark Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is, as well as Chukwudi Iwuji on how the High Evolutionary is one of Marvel’s most irredeemable villains. You can also check out our writer's view on why Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a celebration of fatherhood.

If you've seen the movie, head to our spoilery deep dives on: 

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.