After lengthy delays, it looks like Marvel’s original Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 plans have changed! The production, which was originally planned to film in early 2020, has been plagued by a number of issues that pushed it back several years.
According to Dave Bautista, who plays the knife-happy Drax The Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have been some changes to the story from the original Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 script to the one they’re going to work off of now.
Bautista recently spoke to EW on the changes, saying:
“I believe it’s okay to say that we will go into production late next year. I saw a script early on when we were all on schedule and James Gunn was attached before everything went nutso. I believe because Marvel’s whole calendar has changed that storylines have changed, and they won’t intersect like originally planned. Obviously, we lost Chadwick (Boseman), so I don’t know where that leaves Black Panther. I haven’t seen a new script, is the short answer.”
James Gunn, who wrote and directed the first two Guardians Of The Galaxy films, recently announced that he completed the third film’s script. Gunn was initially fired from the third film by Disney in 2018 following some old controversial social media posts that had been brought to light. Gunn had previously acknowledged and apologized for those posts (which he had since taken down) years before they had come back up and cost him his job as the writer and director of the Guardians Of The Galaxy films. His termination put the third Guardians film on the backburner at Marvel Studios as Disney worked to find a new director to take over the project.
After eight months of silence on the matter, Disney re-hired Gunn for the job in early 2019. Unfortunately for Guardians fans, Gunn had already been hired to write and direct the retooled next chapter in DC Comics’ Suicide Squad franchise, and he would not be able to tackle Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 until his commitment to this other project was completed. On top of all of that, the current global pandemic has pushed much of Marvel Studios slate back by almost a year. It is currently not clear just how much the shutdown may have changed Marvel’s plans for Phase 4 and Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Gunn has assured fans that the changes made to the script between now and his original draft should not amount to much. He reassures people that his plans for the story remain largely intact regardless of what changes may have occurred.
It is curious that Dave Bautista made mention of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played Black Panther and who tragically passed away recently. While a sequel to Black Panther is still forthcoming, Marvel said they have no plans to recast the character at this time. Instead, the sequel will focus on other characters in the nation of Wakanda. We are not sure how or why this would have affected Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, unless Black Panther was expected to make an appearance in the film. It certainly would have been a change for the character who has only ever been seen on Earth in the MCU.
Dave Bautista may also have been referring to changes in the MCU overall rather than just the third Guardians film directly. Still, all bets are off following the conclusion of The Infinity Saga, so who knows what plans Marvel may have had for the character.
While we aren’t sure who else from the extended MCU might pop up in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, one character that is almost sure to make an appearance is Chris Hemsworth’s Thor! Thor had spent quite a bit of time alongside the Guardians characters during Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and even left Earth alongside the team at the end of the latter film. While his own sequel, Thor: Love And Thunder, is set to release well ahead of the next Guardians movie, it seems likely that Thor will be back among the Guardians for their next outing as well.
Originally, the third Guardians film was set to release in 2021, so the delays swapped their release date order around and this could have changed up Thor’s inclusion in this story. Chris Pratt’s Starlord character is expected to be making an appearance in Thor: Love And Thunder, so the future of these characters’ involvement with one another is very up in the air at this time.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is slated for a release in 2023. All major cast members are expected to return, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn, with James Gunn writing and directing.
What are you hoping to see in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3? What other Marvel characters do you think will pop up? Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for all of the latest Guardians Of The Galaxy news!
