A recent leak by TheMarvelScoopMaster on Reddit may have laid out Marvel Studios’ slate for the next few years. One thing that’s sure to make fans happy is the news that Kevin Feige and co. are eager to get Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 into theaters as soon as possible, and are targeting a May 7th, 2021 release date.
While 2021 might seem like the distant future, this date doesn’t actually leave the film with a lot of wiggle room. Right now, James Gunn is hard at work on The Suicide Squad for the Distinguished Competition. That project’s in pre-production at the moment and is expected to go before the cameras in September, targeting a summer 2021 release date.
Word is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will start shooting in February 2020, leaving Gunn in the interesting position of being in post-production on a DC movie at the exact time he’s shooting a Marvel one. Ordinarily, this would be cause for concern, but there’s a couple of things working in the threequel’s favor.
First and foremost is that Gunn knows his cast, characters, and crew like the back of his hand. After having turned out two previous films in the series, it’s unlikely he’s going to run into any huge production issues.
Plus, with his ending for Star-Lord and co. having apparently been decided for some time, it’s not like he’ll have any script issues with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Despite all that, he’s going to be one busy guy for the next two years. With Gunn reportedly set to be in charge of steering the entire DCEU in a new direction (and possibly rebooting Justice League), he’s certainly going to be feeling the pressure.
If things do come out a little rushed though, Disney only has themselves to blame for firing the guy based on a knee-jerk reaction to some old, off-color tweets. Perhaps next time this sort of thing happens, they’ll think through the consequences a little more.