[UPDATE: James Gunn has since denied reports of Guardians of the Galaxy 3's production start date. Our original story continues below.]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 reportedly has a tentative production start date, and based on it, James Gunn might be looking to begin production for the Marvel film before The Suicide Squad hits theaters. Believed to be the film that was supposed to kick off MCU's Phase 4, the threequel has significantly been delayed due to a controversy that resulted in Disney firing the director from the project. He was eventually reinstated, but by that time, Gunn already committed to writing and directing Warner Bros. and DC Films' The Suicide Squad, forcing Marvel to wait.

Filming for The Suicide Squad, which is set after Birds of Prey, was thankfully finished before the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted many productions to shut down indefinitely, with many blockbusters being delayed in varying degrees. The latest fans heard about the DC project, Gunn and his team are working on editing the film, although marketing for the movie is also being delayed. From the looks of it, however, the filmmaker has a good idea when his work on the Margot Robbie-led movie will be done as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gets a target filming start date.

Related: Why Marvel Always Releases Smaller MCU Films After Avengers Movies

According to a new listing from FTIA (via Reddit's smoove4254), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin production on February 1, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. This will be six months before The Suicide Squad hits theater on August 6, 2021. The profile also includes a project summary for the Marvel Studios film, but it doesn't reveal any pertinent plot detail other than the threequel seeing more adventures from the cosmic ragtag team.

Gunn did say last year as he began shooting The Suicide Squad that he will only start filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after his prior commitment is done editing. Meaning, the film should be almost already locked with minor changes (if any) leading to its release. This only fair as the director wants to focus on one task at hand to make sure that he's putting out the best quality film he can. For what it's worth, Gunn's script for the upcoming MCU film is pretty much done for a while now, after all, he was supposed to film it for a release this year. Arguably the more interesting take away from this new information is that this gives fans an idea when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might hit theaters. Marvel Studios has yet to announce their target release date for the blockbuster. Normally, production in 2021 would indicate a 2022 premiere, but Marvel already has four films planned for that year. Depending on how things play out, fans may have to wait until 2023 to see Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

One important factor that people should keep an eye on with regard to this new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 timetable is how the coronavirus pandemic shakes out in the next few months. While some films have gotten a go ahead to resume filming, all that can change quickly if the health crisis threatens to overwhelm public health systems again. The Suicide Squad is among the few films that are not affected by the current situation as it somehow maintained its release date, but even that can change with the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

More: Marvel Phase 4: Every Infinity Stone That Could Appear (& Where)

Source: FTIA (via viasmoove4254/Reddit)