By the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives, which is expected to be the summer of 2023 after James Gunn confirmed production is set to get underway before the end of the year, it’ll mark the longest gap ever between Marvel Cinematic Universe sequels with six years passing since the release of 2017’s Vol. 2.
Of course, that’s all down to Disney firing Gunn from the director’s chair after old offensive tweets of his resurfaced and went viral, with the filmmaker heading across town to board the DCEU’s soft reboot The Suicide Squad in the process. Fans were shocked at the Mouse House’s decision, while the cast threatened a mutiny and Dave Bautista publicly blasted the studio on numerous occasions, confirming he’d quit the MCU altogether if Gunn wasn’t rehired.
Thankfully, the balance was restored and pre-production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is beginning to pick up a head of steam, with the writer/director set to dive headfirst back into the MCU once he wraps up promotional duties on The Suicide Squad. In a new interview, Bautista spoke a bit about the project and revealed he was proud of Disney for admitting they made a mistake and bringing the architect of the intergalactic comic book adaptations back into the fold.
“Obviously, I’m happy. Ecstatic. But, also I think it’s a big statement for Disney to go back on a decision like that. Like, I think that’s a huge statement, a very political statement. It’s not something they needed to do, not at that point, but they basically stepped back and did the right thing and I think that’s a huge statement. So, not to sound condescending, but I’m very proud of Disney. I’m sure that wasn’t easy for them, because they’re basically admitting to the world they made a mistake, they’re wrong. But, also, what that statement says goes a long way.”
Gunn has already promised that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to be epic in scale, and he’s looking to bow out in suitably spectacular fashion after making it clear that this is his last time helming one of the cosmic crew’s adventures. It feels like a lifetime ago that he was initially dropped, but things have long since returned to normal, and nobody will be more thrilled about it than Bautista.
