The “Guardians of the Galaxy” films have been riddled with pop culture references from the very beginning, with even the “Volume” names referencing the mixtapes Peter Quill has made of his favorite music. While the San Diego Comic-Con teaser boasted the song “Do You Realize?” by The Flaming Lips, the new trailer has “In the Meantime” by the band Spacehog. The song feels right at home with the “Guardians” soundtrack, and in a weirdly meta coincidence (or knowing Gunn, an intentional decision), the song was the lead single off the band’s album, “Resident Alien.” This song was tailor-made to be in a “Guardians” movie.

Another interesting bit of pop culture fun occurs when the Guardians jump out of the ship in colorful space suits that look a lot like the ones from Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Plenty of fans online have also noted that the suits look a lot like those in the video game “Among Us,” but, uh, those suits are also a reference to Kubrick’s film.

Most importantly, there are a few shots of Quill, Mantis, and Rocket all crying out in agony. It seems as if someone might be saying their last farewell, but it’s not exactly clear who. With James Gunn leaving Marvel to co-lead the film, TV, and animation division over at DC, it’s also quite possible that all of the Guardians will be saying their goodbyes because, as Rocket says in the trailer, “We’ll all fly away together, one last time, into the forever … that beautiful sky.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.