Yesterday was a big day for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. DirectorJames Gunnwent on Facebook Live withChris Prattto announce that they were officially wrapping onGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. While this is very exciting, all eyes already seem to be on the possibility ofGunnreturning to do a presumedGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and we already have a clue as to whether or notJames Gunnwill be back.
James GunnandChris Prattmade their announcement via aFacebook Livevideo on the director’s official Facebook, and as anyone who follows him on social media knows, he is very active and interacts with fans a lot. Almost immediately after the broadcast, a fan posted in the comment section askingGunn"When do you start on Vol.3?" Here is what he had to say.
“I’m not yet sure whether I’m going to do Vol 3.”
A huge tentpole movie likeGuardians of the Galaxytakes a very long time to make and requires a lot of time on the part of the director.Gunnhas pretty much been working onGuardiansin some capacity for more than four years now, and won’t be done withVol. 2until next year, so the idea of him not committing to a third installment just yet is understandable, especially when another comment he made in response to a fan on the same video us taken into consideration. When asked which of theGuardiansmovies was more difficult to make, here is whatGunnhad to say.
“This one was more emotionally exhausting.”
WithGunnsaying he is already emotionally exhausted and still having to go through the long post production process onVol. 2, his current position makes a lot of sense. Granted, once he is done withVol. 2, it looks like it would be quite some time before he had to jump back into the world ofGuardians, as Kevin Feige has said that a third movie is part of their plans, but it wouldn’t be untilPhase 4, which means it wouldn’t likely be due in theaters until at least 2020. That would giveGunna much needed break and some time to work on another project, as well as figure out if he wants to finish out the trilogy.
Marvel will very likely want to keepGunnaround and happy if at all possible. Granted, we haven’t seen anything fromGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2yet, but he helped make the first movie a massive, surprising success for the studio in 2014. Many considered the property a huge risk and were predicting modest success, if not box office failure.Guardianswent on to gross $773 million worldwide and was the highest grossing movie domestically that year. Not only that, but it launched an animated series, a Grammy award winning, best selling soundtrack, a ton of comic books and every other piece of merchandise you can think of. So, beyond the box office receipts,Gunnhas helped create a huge property for Marvel as a whole.
We don’t know anything aboutGuardians 3or ifGunnwill be back, but we also don’t really know that much aboutVol. 2, so we will need to be patient. That is looking like it is going to change soon though, asGunnandPrattannounced at the end of the Facebook Live broadcast yesterday that they will indeed be heading toSan Diego Comic Conthis year, and it sounds like they are bringing some footage with them. So, if you weren’t already excited about SDCC orVol. 2, that will probably help.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2is set for a August 20, 2025 release.
