After all the controversy surrounding James Gunn and Disney, the third Guardians of the Galaxy film is back on track. It was supposed to be releasing in 2020, but that did not happen. However, filming is set to begin by the end of this year, after director James Gunn finishes his work on the DCEU film The Suicide Squad. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will follow up with the events of Avengers: Endgame, although it won’t be a part of Phase Four of the MCU. The film was confirmed to be in development by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019.
Cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
James Gunn, director of the first two Guardians films, was fired by Disney in July 2018 because of some of his controversial tweets in the past. The main cast of the film showed their support for him and he was rehired for the third film in March 2019.
Chris Pratt is set to return as Peter Quill/Star-Lord for the third film. Zoe Saldana will also return as Gamora, although it will be 2014 Gamora, before she joined the Guardians. How that story arc pans out in the third film will be interesting to see. Other cast members who will be back include Dave Bautista as Drax, Pom Klementieff as Mantis and Karen Gillan as Nebula. Vin Diesel, who voices the character of Groot, and Bradley Cooper, who voices the character of Rocket, will also be back for the third film.
Additionally, Chris Hemsworth has stated his interest in joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He had joined their team at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Vin Diesel had also confirmed that the third guardians film will tie up with Thor: Love and Thunder. So we can expect to see Hemsworth making an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3.
Release Date of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The film was initially supposed to start filming in 2019 and release in 2020. However, with all the controversy surrounding the director, filming was postponed and it is now set to begin in late 2020. There has been no official release date announced for the film yet, but we can expect it to release sometime in 2023, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.