Marvel Doesn’t Need ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

Disney’s firing of James Gunn has shaken up the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. What seemed like a rock-solid future for one of Marvel Studios’ biggest success stories has now been left in a void of speculation and uncertainty, regarding who will take the reigns.

Moreover, the cast of Guardians has been up in arms since Gunn was let go, pushing for him to be reinstated, with some cast members threatening to outright quit the franchise.

But while #ReHireJamesGunn hashtags, fan petitions, and celebrity endorsements are all very cathartic ways to show support for Gunn, they don’t actually amount to squat. Because at this point, Disney and Marvel don’t even need the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise to continue — let alone for it continue with James Gunn.

Disclaimer

Before we get into this, let’s be clear: I’m not a Marvel hater, a Guardians hater, or a Gunn hater. In fact, I like Marvel, I like Guardians, and I have been a fan of Gunn’s work since his indie film days. When it comes to this “controversy” over Gunn’s old tweets, while I don’t think the tweets were appropriate or very smart to keep around, I do question whether his firing was a valid response by Disney:

So it’s as a fan that I say: Guardians is a very expendable part of the MCU.

The New Marvel Cosmic

Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is the prototype that mapped and defined what is now a fledgling “Marvel Cosmic” brand — one that is set to rapidly expand after the events of Avengers 4. Yet, in the same way that the approach to MCU movies became very different after the early trials of Phases I and II, Guardians could easily be retired as newer models take its place. The Thor franchise has been revitalized as a comedic cosmic adventure series, and franchises like Captain Marvel and Nova are already on deck to rapidly expand the cosmic end of the MCU. In short; Marvel isn’t hurting for options that could scratch fans’ Guardians itch.

It’s an easy thing to pull off, narratively, as Gunn’s Guardians films are set years in the past from where the MCU timeline currently stands. In fact, one of the biggest questions about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is what it will be like, after so much time passing and the universe-altering experiences of Avengers 3 & 4. Well, while Marvel Studios may have been planning to give Star-Lord, Groot, and Co. some cool updates for the next era, those plans are certainly fluid enough to change (like they have for so many other MCU franchises) and be spun into something entirely different, while still retaining the core characters and elements that made Guardians a hit.

A Different Same

As stated, after Avengers 4 the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to be a much different playing field — one where the Guardians team we know and love could be re-constituted into something else entirely.

The first and most obvious change would be to transform the “Guardians” into something like “Infinity Watch” — a team of six beings who each guard an Infinity Stone. In Marvel Comics, Gamora and Drax were actually part of the team — alongside Adam Warlock, who was supposed to appear in Guardians 3, anyway. It would be a logical progression for the series, and the kind of soft reboot that would keep the principal elements of Guardians in place, while still changing it enough to separate from Gunn’s version of the franchise.

There’s also the expanded history of the Guardians team that was revealed in Vol. 2, with Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar Ogord and his “original Guardians” still being potential players in a different sort of soft reboot under the GotG banner.

Finally, Marvel Studios has also learned how to segue out of certain franchises, while still keeping the characters and actors very much active in the MCU. What has worked for Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man could work just as well for Guardians, with the team (or select members) showing up in other MCU movies. Captain Marvel 2, Thor 4, or Nova would definitely benefit from having the likes of Rocket, Groot or Star-Lord involved – either to help boost the newer franchises, or continue what fans have loved, in the case of Thor. It’s a way to keep the Guardians franchise alive, without having to do another solo film. Aside from sporadic MCU movie appearances, the current Guardians animated series could also be rebooted as more of an official MCU tie-in.

The bottom line is that there are any number of ways for Marvel and Disney to reap the benefits of the Guardians of the Galaxy brand, without having deal with (expensive) rebellious actors, or the potential lose-lose of angering fans by replacing Gunn, and having that replacement fail to live up to franchise expectations.

What do you think — is it time for Disney and Marvel to rethink the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise altogether? Or is it too big to quit at this point? Let us know your thoughts in the comments — or hit me up @KofiOutlaw!

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on digital platforms and lands on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, Aug. 14. Ant-Man and the Wasp is now in theaters.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.