James Gunn Confirms Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Screen Tests Are Underway

Marvel fans have been waiting a long time for confirmation that work has finally begun on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but while it’s not quite at the shooting stage yet, it’s getting there. Director James Gunn has offhandedly revealed on social media that he’s currently holding screen tests for his much-anticipated cosmic threequel.

Gunn took part in a Twitter-hosted watchalong party for his DC debut The Suicide Squad this Monday, along with a bunch of the film’s cast. The chat saw star Steve Agee reveal a quirk about Gunn’s directorial style. “One thing you don’t wanna hear James say is ‘One more time,'” the actor revealed, “’cause that usually means about 100 more times.”

The filmmaker admitted this is accurate by using an example from that very day, letting slip that he’s currently in the casting stages for Guardians 3 in the process.

“I irritate myself by how often I say one more time,” Gunn said. “I’m actually doing screen tests today for Guardians 3…and I kept saying “One more time,” and I’m like, these people don’t know me… They don’t know that it means 1000 more times.”

This is our first update on where the movie is at since June. That month saw Gunn confirm that he was storyboarding the film, with Nebula actress Karen Gillan likewise revealing she was already back in the makeup chair to create her character’s prosthetics. The news that screen tests have begun is the most exciting update yet, however, as it teases that we could start to get some casting announcements in the not-so-distant future.

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the rest of the regular cast will of course be back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will be the final outing for the OG Guardians team, leaving the door open for a reboot at a later date. With casting underway, that indicates production should commence later this year, before the threequel releases in May 2023.

That might be a while away, but the good news is that The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, a Disney Plus one-off that’s being shot alongside the movie, is headed to streaming in time for Christmas 2022.