Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Confirmed for 2023

Following the firing and rehiring of director James Gunn, among a number of other release date delays and shifts, The Walt Disney Company confirmed during today's Investor Day that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to land in theaters in 2023. A number of reports had hinted that production on the third film could be moving forward sometime next year, with this release window likely not coming as a major surprise to fans, but given how much uncertainty there has been this past year in regards to highly anticipated movies, getting any sort of update on the film moving forward is an exciting one.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made a number of announcements during today's presentation, announcing various updates on not just Marvel Studios films, but also various series that will be debuting on Disney+. Despite the long wait for a proper Guardians of the Galaxy movie, we won't be surprised to see a number of those heroes making appearances in various other corners of the MCU.

Making things even more exciting about this update was that, in addition to James Gunn returning for a feature-length film, he would also be developing The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which Feige said would be filmed while the third movie was in production. That project will surely hold us over until the feature film, as the Holiday Special is expected to debut in 2022.

To say that 2020 has been unpredictable would be a bit of an understatement. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some of the MCU's most highly anticipated projects, such as Black Widow and The Eternals, had their release dates delayed. This ignited a chain reaction of virtually every MCU project having their release dates delayed, which included Disney+ series, as the social-distancing requirements caused complications with production on numerous series.

Another unexpected, and immensely tragic event from 2020, was the passing of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman. Given the massive success of his standalone film, his character was poised to be one of the defining forces in the future of the franchise, with his death due to colon cancer sending shockwaves not only through the fan community, but also through the entire industry. During Feige's presentation, he confirmed that the role of T'Challa would not be recast and that Black Panther 2 is scheduled for July 8, 2022.

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

Are you excited for the new film? Let us know in the comments below!