James Gunn is teasing his upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 should reach theaters at some point in 2020. The filmmaker has become one of the most important voices in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opening up the cosmic side of the franchise to audiences with his previous two blockbuster Guardians movies. This year’s Vol. 2 was a rare bright spot at the summer 2017 box office, raking in $863.2 million worldwide. It comes as no surprise Gunn was confirmed to helm a third installment before Vol. 2 even premiered, and he’s been developing it ever since.

Gunn had completed a first draft of his script earlier this year, though he has to wait on The Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel before really diving deep into it. Still, that hasn’t prevented him from openly discussing certain aspects of Vol. 3, such as Adam Warlock’s inclusion and his hopes to begin filming at some point in 2018. What fans are most interested in is knowing when Star-Lord and friends will headline a movie again after battling Thanos, and it sounds like they have a ways to wait.

In a Facebook post thanking viewers in the U.K. for purchasing Vol. 2 on home media, Gunn answered a question in the comments about the release for Vol. 3. While he didn’t offer a specific date, he did provide viewers with a general idea:

“In a little under three years.”


Always ones to plan ahead, Marvel has already secured a trio of release dates in May, August, and November of 2020 for unknown projects. It’s likely Guardians 3 secures one of those windows, most likely May or August. The series has seen tremendous success in both of those months before, so Marvel will be keen on replicating that performance as much as possible. That Vol. 3 should be one of the first installments of Phase 4 (right on the heels of 2019’s Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel) isn’t a shock, considering it looks to pull off the ambitious task of setting up the next 10-20 years of Marvel films. What the story will entail remains firmly under wraps for now, but it has been confirmed this will be the last adventure for the current iteration of the Guardians team, meaning it should be an emotional ride.

Waiting three years for another journey through the Marvel cosmos sounds interminable, but fortunately fans will get to catch up with the Guardians well before then. The characters are part of the massive Infinity War ensemble, joining forces with Earth’s Mightiest in a crossover event many are greatly anticipating. That should make the gap between Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 easier to handle, and it’ll be exciting to see what awaits the lovable band of misfits in the future.

Source: Sreenrant