Back in April, Marvel announced that James Gunn will be returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while Gunn has already teased some of his plans – including the return of Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha, a more substantial role for Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, and the likely inclusion of Adam Warlock – it seems that development has now been put on hold due to Avengers: Infinity War and its as-yet-untitled sequel.
“I know that James is being a little bit more patient this time around,” said Sean Gunn during an interview with Fan Fest (via Screen Rant). “Partially because some of what happens with the Guardians is dependent on what happens with them in Infinity War. And even though my brother’s a producer on Infinity War, those movies aren’t finished yet so until we kind of see where everything lands there that’s going to have some bearing on what happens with the Guardians. So it’s a little bit of a wait and see but I’m sure there are a lot of ideas already in the works.”
Marvel is currently shooting Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 for release in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The massive production is set to wrap later this year, at which point Gunn can presumably start formulating his plans for the Guardians’ third solo outing.
SEE ALSO: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: 3 Things That Worked and 3 Things That Didn’t
Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out now and sees director James Gunn reuniting with returning cast members Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Glenn Close (Nova Prime), Sean Gunn (Kraglin) and Laura Haddock (Meredith Quill) alongside new additions Pom Klementieff (Oldboy) as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Ayesha, Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight) as Ego the Living Planet, Chris Sullivan (The Drop) as Taserface, Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy) as Tullk and Sylvester Stallone (Creed) as Stakar.