Today on Facebook, Guardians of the Galaxy Volumes 1 and 2 director James Gunn confirmed he will be returning for the confirmed third film. Although the second film isn't out for a few more weeks, he wanted to clear up some rumors and definitely confirm he will be directing and writing the third film.
Here's an excerpt from his lengthy Facebook post:
… the question that comes up perhaps the most is, “What’s the deal with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and are you going to direct?”
Before I was able to honestly answer this, I needed to know it was, in my heart, what I truly felt called to do. There is a history in Hollywood of haphazard endings to trilogies, and I didn’t want to become a part of that dishonorable tradition of pretending the third one doesn’t exist. I couldn’t do it for the money, and I couldn’t do it because it was what other people wanted me to do. I needed to do it because it was what I needed to do. I have never made choices in my career based on anything other than passion and love for the stories and characters, and I didn’t want to start now.
So, after many months of ruminations and discussions, I know the answer. I could save this answer for the first, random interviewer to ask me during the press junket but instead I thought I’d share it with the most important people in the Guardiansverse – you, the fans, who have been so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic over the past five years, it has moved me to tears on a regular basis.
So, yes, I’m returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
One of the most interesting things about this post isn't just that he's directing the third film, it's that he alludes to it maybe being the last Guardians film (at least with this set of characters). he mentioned the history of great trilogies ending on a bad note and he went on to mention that this will "conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy".
Much of what’s happened in the MCU for the past ten or so years has been leading, in a big way, to the Avengers’ Infinity War. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will happen after all that. It will conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond.
It's unclear if that's exactly what he meant, but it sure sounds that way. Of course, there are dozens of cosmic characters Marvel can use to form a new Guardians of the Galaxy roster but it sounds like it'll be a while before we have to start thinking about that.
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 releases on May 5th, 2017 and they'll appear in Avengers: Infinity War in May of 2018 and its sequel in 2019. It's safe to assume we probably won't see a solo Guardians movie until 2020 at the earliest.
