Will ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Keep James Gunn’s Soundtrack?

It’s been just over a month since Disney fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but in that month, there have been a lot of questions about the fate of not just the director, but film itself. Now, with Disney definitively not rehiring Gunn and a reported temporary production hold placed on the film, fans have been left with a major question about something very important to all Guardians films: the soundtrack.

Fans are wanting to know if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will feature a soundtrack chosen by Gunn when it finally hits theaters and it’s a valid question. Music is a critical element of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Gunn has been open over the years about how carefully he incorporates the songs from the soundtrack into the films, making the movie’s soundscape every bit as important as the visuals and story. Gunn even told a fan on Twitter in 2017 that he doesn’t just edit to the music, but that the movies are filmed with the music playing on set.

“I don’t only edit to the track, I FILM to the track,” Gunn wrote. “All the songs are in the script and played on set as we shoot.”

Last August, Gunn even revealed to fans that he had already chosen most of the songs for Vol. 3, and while he didn’t give any hints what those songs might be and they may have changed a bit over the course of the year, it seems like a point towards the idea that Gunn’s will maintain a musical influence over the third Guardians film even if he’s not the one behind the camera. This idea is further reinforced when one considers that Gunn had already turned in a completed script for Vol. 3 and, as noted previously, the songs are written into the script themselves. If that is true, then Disney and Marvel Studios has a fairly complete track listing of the music ready to go.

And with it reported that Disney is likely to go with Gunn’s script no matter who they get to replace him as director, it seems like odds are fairly good that Awesome Mix Vol. 3 will remain the way Gunn intended it. It’s something that fans may find some relief in especially now that there’s no real idea as to when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will make it to the big screen. A recent report from The Hollywood Reporter claims that the film’s production has been put on hiatus, with crew members who had been prepping for pre-production having been dismissed and “are free to look for new work”.

What do you think? Will Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 keep James Gunn’s soundtrack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available as a digital download and on Blu-ray and DVD. Ant-Man and the Wasp is now playing in theaters. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019; Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019; Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th, 2019. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been delayed indefinitely.