James Gunn Says Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Took a Year to Write

With most of the behind-the-scenes drama behind him, filmmaker James Gunn has been opening up about the process of moviemaking once again, with his latest interesting anecdote being that it took him nearly a year to write the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The trajectory of previous series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have typically seen a hero get three films, like Iron Man or Captain America, before a team-up film allows the characters to leave the narrative behind. While it hasn’t been confirmed that the next Guardians of the Galaxy will be its final installment, the next film could bring some closure to these characters.

When a fan asked the filmmaker about his process of writing scripts on a post about The Suicide Squad, Gunn confirmed, “This one was short! A few months. Guardians Vol. 3 took a year, The Specials took a week and Super took maybe three weeks. It’s always different.”

Having written and directed the first two films in the franchise, this series is clearly quite close to the filmmaker’s heart, likely posing a number of complications in not only logistically closing out the trilogy, but with his own connection to the characters potentially making it an emotional process of saying goodbye to them. This film being the end of the line for Star-Lord, Gamora, and the rest of the crew is only speculation, though Thor is the first character to get four solo films.

Whatever the upcoming adventure might be for the characters, fans are thrilled to see Gunn back in the director’s chair. Following obscene jokes he made earlier in his career resurfacing last year, Disney and Marvel Studios cut ties with the filmmaker. Various reports confirmed that Gunn’s script would still be used, though the studio failed to find a filmmaker to bring the endeavor to life, leading to it being pulled off its release slate and delayed indefinitely.

After months of limbo, Marvel Studios confirmed earlier this year that Gunn would return to direct, once he had fulfilled his obligations to Warner Bros. with his new Suicide Squad.

Stay tuned for details on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in fall 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in spring 2021, Loki in spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If? in summer 2021, Hawkeye in fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021.