The “Of Course” file is pretty big thick days, but here’s another entry for it. In a new interview, director James Gunn says that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is definitely going to happen. He’s just not sure if he’s the one to do it.
A still from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Image: Disney/Marvel
“There will be a Guardians 3, that’s for sure,” Gunn tells Complex. “We’re trying to figure it out. I’m trying to figure out what I want to do really, that’s all it is. I got to figure out where I want to be, what I want to spend the next three years of my life doing. You know, I’m going to make another big movie; is it the Guardians or something else? I’m just going to figure it out over the next couple of weeks.”
Gunn has long said he would have difficulty letting anyone else take control of the characters, to a point where he’s even advising the Russo Brothers, who are currently directing the Guardians in Avengers: Infinity War, about how to handle his characters.
“I’ve been heavily involved in what the Guardians do in Avengers: Infinity War,” Gunn told us previously. “I gave [the Russo brothers] tons of advice on how to direct the actors, talked to them a lot during the shooting, and talked to the actors a lot during the shooting to make sure that the Guardians are staying authentic.”
Maybe that’s a sign that he’s beginning to let go. We won’t know for some time.
What we do know is that both Phase Two and Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Part Threes: Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil War, respectively. With that in mind, last year we asked Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be the logical place to kick off Phase 4 after the untitled fourth Avengers movie.
“We’re only working on what’s been announced through the end of 2019,” Feige said in April 2016. “And it is still a big chess board for 2020 and beyond, but certainly I would say Guardians 3 is [one film that’s] up there. I don’t know what exactly the order will be.”
There’s no doubt we’ll find out much, much more in the coming weeks as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 approaches its April 25 release.