James Gunn said he would need half a billion dollars to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the way he wants. GOTG 3 is part of the MCU's Phase 4 and is expected to be released in 2023. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the film will serve as a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and thankfully, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy will be returning to reprise their roles. Even Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who recovered from her death in Avengers: Infinity War due to some time-travel shenanigans, returns.

Also returning for Vol. 3 is James Gunn, the writer and director for the first two movies. Although Gunn announced in 2014 that he had ideas for GOTG 3, it seemed uncertain that he would return to direct. After Disney fired Gunn because of controversial tweets which resurfaced, the director was hired by Warner Bros. to make The Suicide Squad for the DCEU. Gunn's Suicide Squad received great reviews, and its spinoff television series Peacemaker - also led by James Gunn - premiered this month on HBO Max. Since his firing, Disney has rehired Gunn to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 using the script he had written before leaving.

Related: The MCU Delays Are A Dark Spoiler For Guardians Of The Galaxy 3

James Gunn sat down with Collider to talk about his many projects, and during the discussion, Gunn shared some of the differences between making a big-budget Marvel movie, like Guardians of the Galaxy, and a slightly smaller-scale television show like Peacemaker. The director/writer said that one thing that doesn't change is how conscious he has to be of the budget. Gunn claimed even if he had $500 million, it would still only be almost enough to make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 how he wants it. Read his thoughts on sticking to the budget below:

"I innately think about budget while I'm writing, always. Even something as big budgeted as (GOTG) Volume 3 is still a struggle. You know, it's still a struggle to make it fit the budget because you want a movie to be half a billion dollars. If I had half a billion dollars, I could kind of do pretty close to what I want. That's how hard it is. I'm always having to think about budget and make concessions because of budget, but oftentimes it leads to good things. You oftentimes are forced to rethink something and you have to come up with a creative solution."

James Gunn and Michael Rooker on set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

While it's hard to imagine what Gunn could create with half a billion dollars, there's no doubt his creativity knows no bounds. Some of his earliest film credits were made on budgets much, much smaller than any Marvel or DC movie, and the first Guardians of the Galaxy's budget was reported to be around $232 million, nearly half of what Gunn says he really needs. Clearly, money or no money, James Gunn can bring his imagination to the screen.

Despite all the discussion of budgets, Gunn never once lets slip what he'd spend that $500 million on. While James Gunn has stated that some of the characters' arcs will be completed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he's given almost no details about it. The film is expected to include new characters, though, like Will Poulter's Adam Warlock, a character whose powers would benefit from big-budget spectacle. Yet, even without a $500 million budget, the anticipation for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 still grows.

Next: Who Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3's Huge Secret Character Could Be

Source: Collider

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