James Gunn Confirms What We Suspected About Thor And Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

It's wild to think that there was a time when Marvel heroes making prominent appearances in the films of other heroes — that is, outside of the super-sized "Avengers" movies — was a rarity. Now, we're at the stage where Captain Marvel appeared in an already iconic moment of "Ms. Marvel," and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) wasn't even there to see it. 

Another notable crossover occurred recently with a certain Asgardian hero in "Thor: Love and Thunder," who was surfing through space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Following the ending of "Avengers: Endgame," fans were excited to see just how our favorite space-faring crew of rascals would carry on with an intrusive god of thunder aboard the Milano. It turned out that our enjoyment of this combo would be all-too-brief, as the Guardians only appear in the first act of "Thor: Love and Thunder," before the titular figure (Chris Hemsworth) puts them behind him on his mission of self-discovery.

However, things could have been way different. Originally, before James Gunn was controversially removed from (and then put back on) "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," that movie had been set to release in May 2020 (per The Direct), meaning it would've hit before Taika Waititi's fourth Thor movie. With that in mind, many fans have wondered if Thor was in Gunn's original script, and if, perhaps, there could still be a chance that he'd have a co-starring role in the upcoming film. Will we see Thor and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) trade barbs and butt heads once again? 

Well, James Gunn is known for clearing up confusions, and once again, he's answered this question directly on Twitter.

Gunn, ever the pro at both adapting comic book movies and interacting with fans, is always quick to clear things up on social media when needed. A recent instance of this occurred following a clip from Barstool Sports (via Twitter), where they discussed whether the release date shuffle of the respective "Thor" and "Guardians" sequels led to their adventures together being skimmed over too quickly. It's a good question. Did we miss the chance to see Thor in a starring role in "Guardians of the Galay Vol. 3," really? 

Apparently, that was never meant to be. The director set the record straight, tweeting, "I appreciate the love but Thor was never going to be in Vol 3."

On one hand, it's interesting to imagine how the opening acts of both the third "Guardians" and "Love and Thunder" might've differed if their release order hadn't been swapped. And looking forward, it does feel like a shame that we're not going to see the Point Breaker with Stormbreaker back in action alongside Quill, Drax and company. Really, though, keeping Thor out of the mix makes total sense given that "Love and Thunder" tied things up so nicely. Also, given that Nebula's Karen Gillen was brought to tears reading the script (via Yahoo) of what Chris Pratt has deemed "the best of the trilogy," perhaps sticking with the core cast is the right thing to do. 

We can only see how they handle their next adventure without any incoming thunder when "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" hits theatres on May 5, 2023.