James Gunn Confirms When Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Takes Place

By the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters, the timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will have largely caught up with itself. Set for release in May 2023, Guardians helmer James Gunn has confirmed the film will take place in the “now,” when it’s released. The filmmaker made the revelation over the weekend in a series of rapid-fire tweets.

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The timeline revelation came minutes after the filmmaker also happened to confirm Groot will have undergone a substantial level of growth.

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We still don’t know much about the plot of the third Guardians flick other than it will be filmed simultaneously alongside the first-ever MCU holiday special — the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special, something Gunn says you’ll need to watch prior to the events of Vol. 3.

“It’s in-canon, it’s about the Guardians, you’re gonna learn stuff that you need to learn before Volume 3, and it’s great I’m really happy with it,” the filmmaker told Collider on the press tour for The Suicide Squad.

“I’m gonna film it at the same time as the movie. I’m using a lot of the same sets, the same actors obviously, so we’re filming simultaneously with the film but it’s gonna have to be edited and finished sooner.”

In the same vein as Guardians 3, we don’t know much of what will happen in the holiday special either, other than it will introduce quite the wild character.

“Yes, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is real,” the filmmaker previously tweeted. “It’s something that Marvel Studios and I have been cooking up for years. The story is as crazy and fun as can be, and it’s live-action and in the MCU. OH MAN, I WISH I COULD TELL YOU MORE!”

The first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are now streaming on Disney+ while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due to hit theaters May 5, 2023. I Am Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special have yet to receive release dates.

What members of the Guardians would you like to see spin-off shows of? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!