Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was described as the swansong for the franchise due to the announcement of James Gunn‘s new role in the DCU, as well as Dave Bautista’s MCU departure. However, fans wondered if a fourth installment ever came to mind during Gunn’s time at the helm. Fortunately, we now have our answer.
Gunn replied to a fan on Twitter during his time in South Korea. He was asked if he has any plans to work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4, or has ever considered doing so. The director replied, stating that Guardians of The Galaxy was always meant to end with Vol 3. This could mean that Gunn had zero plans to work on another chapter, making this join the handful of Marvel properties, like Iron Man, to end on a trilogy.
The writing was already on the wall for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to be the end. Gunn has revealed in the past that the threquel has no connections to Kang’s grand scheme, and would focus on the heroes to shed light on Rocket Raccoon’s backstory. This fact was cemented even further after Bautista announced that he’s no longer interested in playing Drax in the MCU, and wants to focus on more serious projects.
While it’s unfortunate that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be the finale of the superhero team, it doesn’t mean we can’t see some of these characters in other titles. This is the MCU after all, and we’ve seen the Guardians appear in Thor: Love and Thunder and the Avengers crossovers.