James Gunn Just Confirmed Our Worst Fears About Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

One of the most anticipated films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's upcoming slate of projects is James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." Although the colorful crew has appeared in "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avenger: Endgame," and "Thor: Love and Thunder," the gang haven't had their own cosmic adventure since 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2."  Since then, much has changed both in the MCU and the real world, particularly with Gunn. In 2018, the director was taken off of helming the third entry following the resurfacing of some offensive tweets (via Deadline). Despite backlash from the media, Disney eventually rehired Gunn, bringing him back into the fold to finish his MCU "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, which he did after completing his time on the DCEU flick "The Suicide Squad."

Regardless of events in the real or Marvel Cinematic Universes, we are more than happy to hear of the return of our favorite intergalactic gang of music-lovers, masters of invisibility, and trash pandas. While there are plenty of questions for this entry to be posed, Gunn himself gave fans an answer to one question that may not be what they are ready to hear.

At Marvel Studios' presentation on Saturday, July 23, at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, James Gunn confirmed to a packed Hall H that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" will be "the end of that story," referring to the compelling narrative arc the beloved intergalactic crew began in 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy." He continued, telling the crowd, "I'm sorry. Some stories have an end. It doesn't mean everybody dies" (via The Hollywood Reporter). 

Gunn's latest comments echo what he told The Wrap all the way back in 2017. At that time, he told the outlet that while he sees the third film as the finale of the story built around these characters, if a fourth film were to be made, it would focus on an entirely new cast. He further confirms this notion in a May 2021 tweet, writing to his followers that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" would be the last entry in the MCU franchise with his involvement. While this doesn't entirely rule out the chance of a fourth "Guardians" film with a different creator and cast of characters, it would be a hard sell, as much of the freshness of these movies has had a lot to do with Gunn's unique vision. Disney even had a hard time finding a replacement during the brief period that Gunn was fired (via Variety).

The rest of the Comic-Con panel saw Gunn alongside returning cast members Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff, with newer members Will Poulter as the villain Adam Warlock, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog. While there, they presented footage from the film that sees the new cast at play, some updates on Gamora, and Rocket's backstory.