James Gunn Gives Update on the Future of the MCU’s Cosmic Characters

With Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 on the horizon, many are wondering what the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be in subsequent films. But according to Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn, the cosmic side of the MCU’s Phase 4 is already being sorted out.

“Those scripts are already in the works.” Gunn revealed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Kevin [Feige] and I talk about it all the time; we just had a meeting today. Discussing what is the next iteration of cosmic characters and where are the characters that we’ve already created going to go in the next batch of films.”

As of now, only two MCU films have been greenlit for Phase 4 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and a sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. Gunn has already spoken out about the Guardians’ roster changing after Vol. 3 – possibly with the help of the original Guardians, led by Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar, which were established in one of Vol. 2‘s post-credit scenes.

“I’m definitely interested in the direction that these characters are headed” Gunn explained, “and their roles in the Marvel Universe.”

But one element of the original Guardians that the MCU has no plans to address, according to Gunn, are their time travel-based origins. As many Marvel Comics fans know, the team originally hails from the 31st century, but Gunn says that their origins have been much more simplified.

“That is not something that we’re dealing with.” Gunn explained. “These are older characters and more criminal than our Guardians. So we’re focusing on that.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits Digital HD this Tuesday.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 currently has an 85.18 ComicBook.com Composite Score, the sixth-highest ComicBook.com Composite Score for a comic book movie of all time. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also has a 3.99 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Rating, giving it the twelfth-highest ComicBook.com user rating among all comic book movies. Let us know what you thought of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 by giving it your own ComicBook.com user rating below.

Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.