In the wake of yesterday’s news that James Gunn had been rehired as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the internet breathed a collective sigh of relief, as social media flooded with overjoyed responses to the news that many of us thought would never come.
Among the posts welcoming Gunn back to the MCU were several from members of the Disney camp, including Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, who shared the Deadline article that first broke the news, along with the following two words:
“G L O R Y H A L L E L U J A”
From Karen Gillan to Ant-Man helmsman Peyton Reed, it’s clear that plenty of Gunn’s MCU peers and former collaborators feel the same way. And in a tweet of his own, the director last night expressed how “tremendously grateful” he was for all the support.
But while Vol. 3 no longer feels like it’s in a state of limbo, it’s likely that James Gunn’s period in exile has served as a major setback for the film, which was initially reported to be heading for a May 2020 release. From the look of things, that slot has since been given to Black Widow, with The Eternals set to kick off the cosmic end of Marvel’s Phase 4 later in the year.
Also delaying the project is the fact that Gunn is scheduled to begin filming The Suicide Squad this year. Seeing how the DC flick isn’t set to hit theaters until August 6th, 2021, it could be a long wait before Gunn starts production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but in the meantime, Scott Derrickson will be getting to work on Doctor Strange 2, which is reportedly aiming for a May 2021 release.
