Had everything gone to plan, we might have already seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The sequel was originally slated to shoot in 2019 for a 2020 release, but all that changed when writer/director James Gunn was briefly cancelled over some old tweets. In the interim, he signed up to direct Warner Bros.’ The Suicide Squad, and the delay caused by that was compounded by COVID-19 pushing all MCU movies back.
Now, however, things are settling down, with Disney and Marvel recently confirming their 2021 schedule. Black Widow will arrive in theaters and on Disney+ on July 9th, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings on September 3rd, Eternals on November 5th, and Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th. That’s in addition to the various Disney+ shows, with a new trailer for Loki also being released recently.
But what about everybody’s favorite interstellar adventurers? Gunn was asked by a fan on Twitter to give an update and said the following:
“Our designers & visual development geniuses are busy creating new, fantastic designs of other worlds & alien beings. I’m not sure the galaxy is big enough for all this magic. This. One. Is. Huge. I’m excited.”
The director is still busy with The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros., but once that’s out he’s back to the MCU with a vengeance. Up first will be the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+, planned for Christmas 2022. The following summer, the sequel will then land, meaning we have quite a wait ahead of us.
But fans of the characters shouldn’t be too sad, as the gang is making a return in next year’s Thor: Love and Thunder. That’s currently shooting in Australia and we know the Guardians are set for appearance, as Chris Pratt has been pictured on set, Karen Gillan has said that she’s returning as Nebula and Dave Bautista is back as Drax.
Gunn has reportedly had a definitive ending in mind for the Guardians of the Galaxy for some time, too, so I’m glad he’s going to get a chance to round out his MCU trilogy.