Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is officially confirmed to be in development. Marvel Studios took a bit of a risk when they adapted the obscure comic book title, but it turned out to be one of their greatest strokes of genius. Bolstered by director James Gunn’s unique sense of humor and heart, memorable characters, and a retro soundtrack, the original Guardians of the Galaxy became one of 2014’s biggest films. The 2017 sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, was an even larger hit (tallying $863.8 million worldwide), making the Guardians as big of a draw as any of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Unsurprisingly, plans were put in place for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but that project has had an interesting road to the big screen. It was only a year ago Gunn was fired from the film following the re-emergence of old, controversial tweets of his, but eventually Disney rehired him and Gunn’s back at the helm for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Obviously, the movie won’t reach its original 2020 release date, but now fans know when the Guardians will return.
During their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios announced their Phase 4 slate. A release date for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was not unveiled, but Kevin Feige confirmed it is in development and will come out soon.
As for why Guardians of the Galaxy 3 hasn’t been dated yet, there are a few reasons. For one, Marvel Studios has a very full plate over the next couple of years; not only are there five new movies on the way between now and 2021, there’s also an entire lineup of TV shows for the Disney+ streaming service. Even though Marvel has three release dates for untitled films in 2022, there seems to be a limit on what even they can announce at a single panel. Additionally, Gunn is hard at work directing The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros., and it’s already been said he isn’t going to rush Suicide Squad to get back to Marvel. Realistically, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 may not be ready until 2023, but that’s just speculation for now.
Whenever the Guardians return, they’ll be in an interesting place. Avengers: Endgame concluded with Peter Quill embarking on a quest to find the 2014 version of Gamora, who is confirmed to have survived Tony Stark’s snap. It felt like that was a deliberate lead-in for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but now that’s uncertain. After all, Thor was part of the group at the end of Endgame, but he’s going to be off headlining another solo movie in 2021’s Thor: Love and Thunder. It would be a shame if Guardians of the Galaxy 3 didn’t explore the plot line of Gamora having to reacquaint herself with the rest of the Guardians, though time will tell.
More: It’s One Year Since James Gunn Was Fired From Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Source: Marvel Studios
