James Gunn Describes "Gigantic" Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 After R-Rated Suicide Squad (Exclusive)
After the massive success of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, few expected writer/director James [...]
After the massive success of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, few expected writer/director James Gunn to jump the fence to the DC movie universe, but that's exactly what happened. Gunn will release DC's The Suicide Squad in theaters and on HBO Max this August - before jumping the fence back to Marvel Studios to make his long-awaited threequel, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. So far, critics are saying that Gunn's Suicide Squad is a shocking romp of R-rated mayhem - so how does he hope to follow that unbridled freedom with his next Marvel film? According to Gunn, with a "gigantic" Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3!
In an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis, James Gunn explained how he's approaching the challenge of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, after The Suicide Squad:
"Listen, Guardians movies are just different. It's just using a different part of my brain in some ways," Gunn said. "I mean, Guardians movies are more geometric. This Guardians, in particular, is just gigantic, so I'm just finishing the story that I feel like I need to finish."
However, Gunn has previously indicated that Guardians 3 won't just be "gigantic," that bigger size will also come with some heavier dramatic weight:
"For Guardians 3, the script has basically been written for a long time. I've been playing with it in little ways over the years, but it's basically stayed the same since three years ago," Gunn told EW. "It's pretty heavy actually. It's a heavier story, so it's an emotional process to go through."
During his interview with Comicbook.com, Gunn went on to tease a bit more about what Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 will be about:
"I'm telling Rocket's story fully, which I need to tell. These are all needs. I don't think I'm reeling anything in. I'm telling that story as fully as it should be told in the way it should be told."
And just so it's clear: James Gunn doesn't see any competition between the Marvel and DC sides of his directorial career. As far as he's concerned, the work he does on Guardians of the Galaxy and the work he does on The Suicide Squad are two completely different filmmaking universes:
"There's not a part of me that goes, 'Oh, I wish I could do an R-rated Guardians movie.' It's not native to the source," Gunn said. "It seems like the Guardians should be PG-13 films, whereas Suicide Squad seems like it should be an R-rated film, so it's just different things."
The Suicide Squad hits theaters, IMAX, and HBO Max on August 6th. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
