Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn debunks theories that Thor was supposed to appear in the sequel. After directing both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gunn will return to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The film is set for release in May of 2023, and stars the recurring cast of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, and Bradley Cooper, as well as adding Will Poulter, Nico Santos, Maria Bakalova, and Chukwudi Iwujji to its cast. The plot of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is as of yet unknown.

Over the course of development, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 experienced its fair share of ups and downs. At one point, it was believed it would be one of the first Phase 4 projects, but Gunn was infamously fired from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 back in 2018. Of course, he was rehired for the job a year later. That, along with Marvel having to constantly reshuffle their slate in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, forced the studio to change some of their Phase 4 plans - including release order. Since there's a version of Phase 4 where Guardians of the Galaxy 3 premieres before Thor: Love and Thunder, some have wondered if Thor was supposed to be in Gunn's movie.

Related: Is Thor: Love & Thunder Set Before Or After Guardians Of The Galaxy 3?

Gunn has debunked these Thor appearance theories in a recent tweet, however. Responding to a fan video speculating on the possibilities of Thor’s appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn tweeted that Thor was in fact never in the plan for Guardians of the Galaxy. Check out the tweet from Gunn below:

Click here to view the post on Twitter

So, despite the speculation, it looks like Thor will not be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. To those who have been following statements from both Gunn and Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, this news should not come as a complete surprise. As was recently revealed, Waititi never read a Guardians of the Galaxy 3 script while working on the script for Love and Thunder. While Gunn and Waititi did collaborate on basic info about characters to try to stay true to the form of the previously-established MCU dynamics, it would certainly be difficult to include Thor in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 without Waititi being aware of the events of the Guardians sequel. This would especially be the case if Guardians of the Galaxy 3 does in fact follow Love & Thunder chronologically, thus meaning that the events of Love & Thunder would have consequences on Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Even without the popularity of the God of Thunder in its clutches, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will still have a lot to work with. Gunn has gotten the ball rolling with teases about Iwuji’s new villain character and the revelation that Poulter will play Adam Warlock in the film, and star Pratt has set high expectations for the film in calling it a “true masterpiece” recently. With these teases, MCU fans can start to piece together what may be in store for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, even before a plot synopsis is released. The sequel may not have Thor, but it still has a vibrant cast of new and returning characters to delight viewers in what should be an emotional story.

More: Chris Pratt's GOTG 3 Hype Sets An Impossible Challenge For James Gunn

Source: James Gunn