James Gunn Teases A Very Different Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 4

04/28/2017 09:47 am EDT

The fans have been heard, loud and clear, as Marvel has signed on writer/director James Gunn to make a third Guardians of the Galaxy film. It's not much of a surprise, as Vol. 2 is rocketing toward a historic box office debut. However, if Marvel decides to move forward with a fourth guardians movie, it could look very, very different.

When speaking with the Toronto Sun, James Gunn revealed that Guardians 4 could work, but it would be a total overhaul.

I think the first three movies tell a single story and that story is pretty simple. I think that there could be a Guardians Vol. 4, but it would not be the same. It would not be the same group... basically the story of this group ends with Vol. 3.

According to Gunn, the potential Vol. 4 wouldn't even contain the same characters as the first three. Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, and the whole gang would be absent from the fourth installment.

If this does happen, who would be featured in the movie? Why would anyone watch the Guardians without Chris Pratt & Company? The answer lies in Vol. 2.

It's common knowledge now that Sylvester Stallone is playing Starhawk in the upcoming movie. If you didn't know, Starhawk was one of the original Guardians of the Galaxy.

Back in 1969, the Guardians team looked very different than it does now. The crew was comprised of Starhawk, Charlie-27, Vance Astro, Martinex, Aleta, and Yondu. The latter is the only one that was featured in the first Guardians movie. The Star-Lord version of the team wasn't introduced until 2008, when Dan Abnett starting writing for Guardians.

With Starhawk's introduction to the MCU, this opens the door for a new team to take the helm in Vol. 4. There is a whole slew of characters from these original books to helm another movie, possibly even another trilogy.

MORE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2: The Major Cosmic Characters Introduced In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 / 3 New TV Spots Released / Chris Pratt Performs Hilarious Pet Shop Prank Call

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2017.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.