'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' Will Film This November, Script The Same As It Was Three Years Ago
Long ago, in the faraway time of 2017, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy got its long-awaited sequel. To be fair, not that much time has elapsed between the second and third movie, but time has been moving slower and this movie was originally supposed to arrive a lot sooner.
Regardless, we come bearing good news: James Gunn's next Guardians film is officially on the way, with a completed script and set filming dates.
Here's What We Know
James Gunn spent the last two years making The Suicide Squad and developing the HBO spinoff series Peacemaker. Before signing onto those projects, he was committed to the third Guardians of the Galaxy. Social media backlash led to him being taken off the project and the Guardians sequel got put on the back burner for a few years, but it sounds like we're finally back in action. Gunn has confirmed that the third film in the franchise, officially titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is set to begin shooting in Atlanta this November.
Despite being repeatedly delayed, Gunn told Collider that the script has been near completion for a while now:
"It's basically been finished for years. I keep fiddling with different things and adding things, and figuring out permutations and stuff — I'm in the middle of doing another draft now — but it's really small stuff in comparison to what it has been. It's basically been finished since three years ago."
The sad truth is, we don't know very much about what's in Gunn's script, but the lucky few who've gotten a chance to read it have let vague details slip. According to Nebula actress Karen Gillan, the emotional stakes are higher than ever. She recently said:
"I read that script with Pom Klementieff, who plays Mantis. We read it together and we both cried and laughed, but there was full tears. It's incredible, I think it's James' strongest work yet with the Guardians and it's just brilliant. It's brilliant and it's emotional and it's funny and it's all of those things that you want."
We can expect the return of the current Guardians team with Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis. But they won't be the only familiar faces we see...
What We Can Expect
Gunn's new film will be tasked with handling the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, where the Guardians teamed up with the Avengers to defeat Thanos. It was a traumatic journey, spanning two movies and involving many deaths, including that of Guardians member Gamora (Zoe Saldana).
Though original Gamora remains a casualty of Thanos' initial success, a version of Gamora from much earlier in the timeline is on the loose. Still struggling with the truth of her father's nature, this Gamora never joined the Guardians or formed a connection with Quill. If they encounter her on this latest adventure, they'll all be starting the relationship from scratch.
That's not the only change to the group dynamic — the Guardians also departed with a new member. After handing his title to Valkyrie, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) opted to ride shotgun with the Guardians and bicker with Quill about leadership. So there's a possibility those two are still at the head of the spaceship, arguing over who the superior leader is.
That being said Gunn has already confirmed Vol 3 comes after the events of Thor: Love and Thunder, meaning we can't know for sure that Thor is still traveling with the Guardians. He clearly has plenty going on, maybe enough to pull him away from his newest group of super pals.
Whatever involvement Thor and Gamora have is largely up to Gunn. The writer-director noted that Marvel hasn't saddled too much setup or future continuity on his shoulders. He told Collider:
"The only time they ever [asked me to include something for future MCU movies] was on the first movie with Thanos, putting Thanos in there. Which they wanted me to do. But besides that they've never done that. I have to pay attention to things that happen, which they did talk to me about – the stuff with Gamora and things like that. I know that the characters have been through certain things, so I have to deal with that stuff. But for the most part, they never once asked me to put anything in the script for Volume 3 to set up anything in the future. Nor would I do it, frankly, it's not really my thing."
We are weeks away from learning exactly what happens when James Gunn is allowed to do as he pleases with a comic book movie. If we're lucky, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be round two.