Of all the upcoming movies that Marvel Studios has announced for the next couple of “Phases” of the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of the few that have been confirmed to be happening, yet doesn’t have a release date.
The ending of Avengers: Endgame has left the events of Vol. 3 up in the air, and thanks to all the James Gunn firing/rehiring drama, we might have to wait until 2022 to have all our questions answered. So, here are 5 Things That Have Been Confirmed For Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (And 5 Fan Theories).
Confirmed: James Gunn is writing and directing
As with the first two Guardians movies, James Gunn will be writing and directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It almost wasn’t the case, as Disney fired him from the movie when some of his old offensive tweets were reposted by the alt-right movement on Twitter. The studio was still planning to use Gunn’s script for the threequel, which had been completed, but that wouldn’t have been the same. A few months after Gunn’s firing, Marvel rehired him and he’ll be directing Vol. 3 from his script after all, albeit after he finishes The Suicide Squad, the DC job he took after being fired.
Fan theory: Adam Warlock will be appearing
In one of the many post-credits scenes following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ayesha introduced one of her minions to a new birthing pod she’d created to give the Sovereign an artificial being that would be capable of destroying the Guardians. She named it “Adam,” which many fans immediately recognized as Adam Warlock. Since Adam Warlock is one of the only Marvel characters, along with Captain Marvel, whose strength could rival Thanos, many fans expected him to make his debut in Infinity War or Endgame, but he never did. So, unless Marvel has completely forgotten the Adam Warlock tease, he could show up in the third Guardians film.
Confirmed: It’s set after Thor: Love and Thunder
The end of Avengers: Endgame hinted that Thor would be joining the Guardians of the Galaxy on their next adventure. However, a few months after Endgame was released, Marvel announced its Phase 4 slate, which confused fans, because it included Thor: Love and Thunder, another standalone outing for the God of Thunder, and no sign of the Guardians. A lot of fans expected the third Guardians movie to be a stepping stone between Endgame and the fourth Thor movie, so James Gunn has cleared the air and confirmed that Guardians Vol. 3 will take place after Thor: Love and Thunder.
Fan theory: Thor will join the Guardians
Avengers: Endgame pretty much ended the same way as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, with every character getting their own personal ending in the epilogue following the big climactic sequence. Thor’s ending saw him handing over the reins of New Asgard to its new king, Valkyrie, and then jetting off with the Guardians of the Galaxy on the Benatar.
He forged relationships with all the Guardians over the last two Avengers films and he just relinquished his kingdom, so it would make sense for him to join the team. Chris Hemsworth has said that he’d be open to it.
Confirmed: It won’t be called Asgardians of the Galaxy
When Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy on the Benatar to get a ride into space at the end of Avengers: Endgame, he jokingly said, “The Asgardians of the Galaxy, back together!” In the comics, the Asgardians of the Galaxy are a real team, but it’s not just the Guardians of the Galaxy with Thor tagging along – it’s a totally different team that formed to replace the Guardians. One fan told James Gunn on social media, “Please do not let the movie be called Asgardians of the Galaxy,” and the director simply replied, “Don’t worry.” There’s a good chance it’ll be called Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 instead, possibly with a subtitle.
Fan theory: Drax will find out his daughter is alive
A couple of probably unreliable leaks have suggested that Drax’s daughter Moondragon will be revealed to be alive and join the Guardians in Vol. 3. This would negate a lot of Drax’s character development, since he’s been driven by avenging his family’s deaths this whole time, but depending on how it’s pulled off, it could be interesting. Moondragon is a fascinating character in the comics, with telepathic and telekinetic powers, as well as martial arts, engineering, and piloting skills. Kevin Feige has promised to introduce more LGBTQ heroes into the MCU in the coming years, and Moondragon could be one of them.
Confirmed: It’ll conclude Rocket’s character arc
According to James Gunn, when he was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the biggest heartache was not being able to finish Rocket’s character arc: “I relate to Rocket and I feel compassion for Rocket, but I also feel like his story has not been completed. He has an arc that started in the first movie, continued into the second and goes through Infinity War and Endgame, and then I was set to really finish that arc in Guardians 3. That was a big loss to me, not being able to finish that story.” Now that he’s back on board the project, he’ll get to finish Rocket’s arc after all.
Fan theory: Gamora will be the villain
The Gamora that we fell in love with as she went on an emotional journey to become one of “those who dance” is dead, since Thanos sacrificed her to acquire the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War. However, there is still a Gamora who is alive and well in the MCU. She traveled forward in time from 2014 to fight alongside Thanos and his armies in the Battle of Earth.
A deleted scene confirms that she wasn’t turned to dust by Tony Stark’s snap, but the Gamora that Peter Quill is looking for is from 2014, when she was a loyal servant to the Mad Titan. She might be the villain in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Confirmed: Filming will begin in 2020
Rumor has it that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was supposed to be released as the first movie in Phase 4 following Spider-Man: Far From Home. It would make sense that the third Guardians movie would be released in 2020, since the first was released in 2014 and the second was released in 2017, and 2020 would keep up the franchise’s three-year intervals. However, the firing and rehiring of James Gunn delayed the movie by a few years, and now, the movie is only set to begin shooting in 2020 – not get released – after Gunn is finished with DC’s The Suicide Squad.
Fan theory: A major character will die
A few weeks ago, James Gunn teased that a major character would die at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. A fan asked Gunn on social media if someone would die in Vol. 3 and the director replied, “I can’t remember ANY comic book film where someone didn’t die!” Now, obviously, legions of faceless alien soldiers are often killed in the big battle scenes, but Gunn seems to be coyly hinting at a more important death here. Each Guardians movie has ended with the heartbreaking death of a beloved character – the original version of Groot in Vol. 1 and Yondu in Vol. 2 – and Vol. 3 will be the trilogy’s capper, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it ends with a death.