James Gunn has created six hundred versions of Marvel'sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for a more custom experience for each type of theater configuration.
Director James Gunn wanted to take advantage of the multiple aspect ratios available in cinemas. The goal was to give every exhibitor the ability to maximize their screen size for the audience.
All Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 versions are catered to the format of each theater’s screens, with roughly 45 minutes of the movie opened up to a flat 1.85 aspect ratio for select "traditional" theaters and some Dolby Cinema auditoriums.
“It’s definitely the most complex delivery Marvel’s ever done,” Evan Jacobs, Disney’s vp of finishing and stereo, told The Hollywood Reporter. The creative goal, according to Jacobs, was to “give every exhibitor in the United States and in most international territories [the ability to] maximize their screen size for the audience. So wherever you go to see it, you’re gonna see the best version.”
Gunn also created a version that only uses the 2.39 aspect ratio for certain "traditional theaters" and select Dolby Cinema auditoriums, and an IMAX 1.90 version designed specifically for IMAX auditoriums.
This approach is similar to James Cameron and Jon Landau’s approach for Avatar: The Way of Water, which had 1,065 versions. Guardians 3 tops 600, making it the most complex delivery Marvel has ever done.
Disney's VP of finishing and stereo, Evan Jacobs, notes that the schedule involved in the final weeks to complete these versions of the movie was tight but manageable, thanks to the solid movie that Gunn had made at the beginning and the hard work of the postproduction community.