Though many Marvel fans are still upset that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is moving forward without James Gunn at the helm, we’ve been hearing for a while now that the upcoming threequel will still be using the filmmaker’s script, and sure enough, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has offered his confirmation that this is indeed the case.
The subject came up in an interview with CinemaBlend, in which the producer also reflected on Gunn’s central role in shaping the Guardians series, before addressing previous reports that the director was set to shepherd the cosmic end of the MCU prior to his dismal:
“His influence was Guardians. It was Guardians. It was his input on Guardians and the Avengers films, as you’ve seen in Infinity War, and on the Guardians 3 script, which we’re still using. So you’ll see that influence. I think online, sort of the notion of ‘architect across multiple cosmic things’ was slightly blown out of proportion.”
Though the content of Gunn’s script remains mysterious, Chris Pratt told MTV News just a couple of weeks ago that he had read the text, and described it as “off the chain.” What’s more, /Film’s Peter Sciretta claimed back in December that he’d heard from two separate sources that Gunn’s script had proven to be a real tearjerker.
All in all, the reports bode very well for Gunn’s screenplay, but with Vol. 3 still without a director, it could be a long wait before the script makes it to screens. At moment, Marvel Studios’ schedule beyond July’s Spider-Man: Far From Home has yet to be confirmed, though it’s expected that the 2020 slate will consist of the Black Widow movie and The Eternals, the latter of which is now set to be the first cosmic entry in Marvel’s Phase 4.
Where Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will fit into the calendar remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance that Gunn’s take on another comic book property will be reaching cinemas first, with The Suicide Squad headed for theaters on August 6th, 2021.