James Gunn is now working on movies ‘around’ Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Gunn, the writer/director of Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, has become the steward of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s cosmic branch and he’s already teased that his third film in his Guardians franchise will “set up the next 10-20 years of Marvel movies.”

The exact nature of Gunn’s future plans remains under wraps, at this stage. He’s previously stated that Marvel is considering Richard Rider – aka the superhero Nova – for a future cosmic outing. He’s also teased the casting of Adam Warlock – aka Him – following on from the post-credits tease at the end of Vol. 2. He’s also said that it’s “always a possibility” that the Ravager leaders, who are overtly inspired by the original Guardians from the comics, will return. Gunn has also said that the MCU cosmic movies set after Guardians 3 are already being written.

Related: Rocket's MCU Origins Will Differ From the Comics

Now comes the news that Gunn is creating movies “around” Guardians of the Galaxy 3, as well as “shepherding the future of the Marvel cosmic universe.” This interesting - albeit brief - description of Gunn’s future Marvel cosmic plans came during Gunn’s panel at Hasbro’s HASCON. MCU Exchange was in attendance and Tweeted this intriguing piece of information:

To dig into the semantics there, the idea of Gunn creating multiple movies “around” Guardians 3 seems to suggest that the film will tee up some other stories, be they spinoffs or sequels or something else entirely. It’s very easy to speculate from that starting point, imagining solo movies for the crew of the Milano. Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon all had lives before they met, after all, and they will presumably continue to have them if their team ever disbands. At the same panel, Gunn even teased that Rocket’s backstory will be explored in a future Marvel movie.

However, it’s impossible - try as fans might - to extrapolate any actual information from the use of the word “around” in a Tweet about a panel. Gunn didn’t confirm that Rocket or anyone from the Guardians world is getting a spinoff film. News like that comes from official announcements after months of work and with sign-off from Kevin Feige and the other Marvel Studios executives. Only time will tell what Gunn and Marvel have in store on the cosmic side and they aren’t in the habit of announcing things before they’re properly ready.

Here's one thing we know for sure, though: Vance Astro, the original leader of the Guardians, from the comics, will not be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Gunn made it clear at this panel that the character is not in his treatment for Vol. 3. Everything else remains a mystery.

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Source: MCU Exchange