Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the threequel to James Gunn’s highly acclaimed original, may become the next victim of COVID-19.
The Guardians played a key role during the war against Thanos in the last two movies of the Infinity Saga, but the gang is set to return in full-force with their third installment in 2021. Vol. 3 was originally intended for 2020, but after the controversy that ensued thanks to James Gunn’s offensive Twitter jokes, Marvel had to go back-and-forth looking for potential directors who’d helm the movie and imitate Gunn’s unique style. That obviously didn’t happen, and owing to ferocious campaigning from fans, and even several MCU actors voicing their support for the filmmaker’s reinstatement, Gunn is back and production on the pic has picked up speed again.
That being said, the novel coronavirus pandemic that’s currently sweeping through the world may actually end up delaying the movie. In fact, Marvel has already delayed the premiere date of Black Widow, while also shutting down production on anticipated TV shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki.
Since there’s no telling when the COVID-19 situation will get under control, and with health officials claiming that the world could grapple with the infectious disease until the end of this year, many productions in Hollywood are, as of now, in an ambiguous state. Even if things do get better and studios or distributors decide to continue their work under limitations, it’s likely that Gunn’s threequel will be delayed given that the rest of the movies in the MCU’s Phase 4 have all been pushed back now.
Additionally, it’ll be a while before a vaccine is ready for broad utilization. Some medications have proven to be effective against the virus, indeed, but governments around the world are still pleading with people to practice social distancing and isolate themselves at home to help curb the spread.
If all necessary steps are taken, there’s hope that we could defeat the COVID-19 together. But even then, fans should note that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 postponing production is a real possibility, and a highly likely one at that given how many scheduling changes Marvel is now having to make.
