A new report claims that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 starts filming early next year for a May 2020 theatrical release. Due to the secrecy surrounding Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, not much is known about Phase 4 of the MCU. So far, the only film with an official release date is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming which will kick Phase 4 off next summer following Avengers 4. It’s also known that a Black Widow movie is in development – and it’s no secret that James Gunn is hard at work on the next Guardians movie.

Late last year, Gunn said that the first Guardians of the Galaxy 3 script draft was complete, meaning things should be pretty far along at this point. When it comes to what the film will entail, we’ve heard Gamora will play a large role, following her and Nebula’s confrontation with their ‘father’ Thanos in the next two Avengers movies. We probably won’t know much more until Avengers 4 is in the rearview, but fans may not have to wait that long for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to start filming.

That Hashtag Show is reporting that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will see Gunn and the main Guardians cast return to Disney’s Pinewood Studios outside of Atalanta, GA. The crew of the film is said to already be on-site preparing for pre-production to begin, which will involve extensive set-building and pre-visualization work for the effects-heavy movie. From there, THS has heard that Guardians 3 will start filming in early 2019 , giving it plenty of time to potentially make the May 1, 2020 release date that Marvel is holding onto.


As THS points out, the mostly-indoor shoot means there shouldn’t be too many set photo and video leaks for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Still, Gunn is an avid social media user who regularly posts dispatches from his films, and he will (probably) continue to keep his followers’ updated as he continues to make progress on the third Guardians solo film.

One major question when it comes to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is which characters will be joining the established crew. Despite the tease in the last film, Gunn says Adam Warlock isn’t confirmed for the MCU yet. Fans have been hoping to see the cosmic powerhouse for years, and many have even theorized we could see him pop up by Avengers 4. The comics loosely inspiring that movie prominently featured Warlock and his evil alter-ego Magus, so it would be easy enough for him to make his debut there before he joins the Guardians in the MCU. Fortunately, it won’t be much longer until the new Avengers movies debut and more information concerning Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives.