Many have been wondering for awhile now about whether or not writer/director James Gunn would come back for the inevitable Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After shepherding the first two film and packing them to the brim with his vision, would he return to close out the trilogy? I always figured he would, but we have yet to see a single director finish out a trilogy in this series, so there was always the chance that he’d move on. Worry no longer, fans! Gunn confirmed today on that yes, he will indeed return to both write and direct the third Guardians film…
“So, yes, I’m returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
In the end, my love for Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Star-Lord, Yondu, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula – and some of the other forthcoming heroes – goes deeper than you guys can possibly imagine, and I feel they have more adventures to go on and things to learn about themselves and the wonderful and sometimes terrifying universe we all inhabit. And, like in both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, we will work on creating the story that goes beyond what you expect.”
His full statement is much longer, of course, and name checks a lot of people, as well as Avengers: Infinity War, which these characters will show up in between next month’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the eventual GOTG Vol. 3. Nothing is said about a release date for the latter, but it’s not hard to speculate when it might land. 2019 is fully-booked in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means GOTG Vol. 3 is likely to land in May 2020. That actually gives James an extra year to breath between installments, which could prove interesting.
Why? Because, if he so chooses, he likely has enough spare time now to work in another film beforehand. That’s exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the first Guardians and the new one looks just as good. I have little doubt that the third will be great as well. Why? Because at the end of the day, Marvel or not, they are James Gunn films. His stamp is all over them, which is wonderful. That said, I’m also a massive fan of his first two features, Slither and Super. I would very much love to see him do something more original and do it sooner rather than later. It would be fantastic if he decides to squeeze in a non-Marvel movie before flying back into the MCU cosmos in a few years. I don’t care if he wants to make something small again or something big. The more Gunn, the better.
And if he wants to just take that extra year off? More power too him. He’s more than earned it.
