James Gunn will work on the upcoming The Suicide Squad HBO Max spin-off first before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Before John Cena's Peacemaker character even make his big-screen debut, he has already scored a TV series on the streaming platform. Gunn will write all eight episodes of the first season, which will function as the character's origin story, while also directing several episodes. As exciting as this sounds to the public, some Marvel fans may not be too happy about it.

In 2018, Gunn was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after several of his unsavory tweets were unearthed. While this was a hard time for the director, it paved the way for him to score a job at Warner Bros. and DC Films, writing and directing what's deemed soft reboot/sequel to David Ayer's 2016 Suicide Squad. Marvel fans hoped that Gunn would finish with The Suicide Squad by the new year, meaning Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 can start filming soon after. However, that's not going to be the case.

Related: Everything We Know About The Suicide Squad

Now that Peacemaker will be getting a spin-off TV series at HBO Max (with Gunn heavily involved), the implication is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 won't be filming any time soon. According to a report from THR, the filmmaker will be working on the small screen project first before jumping back to finish his MCU trilogy. The Cena-led series is set to kickstart production early next year, although no word yet when it will drop on the streaming platform.

Suicide Squad Roll Call John Cena Peacemaker Vertical

Given this new development, it's curious if this project has long been in development over at DC Films and was part of Gunn's original project slate at Warner Bros. when he boarded The Suicide Squad. Depending on the chronology of events, it's possible the idea came about after the filmmaker hatched the narrative for his upcoming DCEU flick. Since HBO Max seems to be betting big on comic book narratives with Zack Snyder's Justice League and Gotham PD prequel show in the pipeline, the studio was easily convinced. Based on Gunn's previous comments, Marvel Studios was okay to wait for him to finish his commitment over at DC before picking things up with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, meaning Kevin Feige and his team are aware of this new project.

In any case, there's no rush into filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Marvel Studios' Phase 4 slate is filled up until at least 2022, with other upcoming projects like the threequel still without confirmed release dates — that's on top of their Disney+ series turn-out. However, while this may not be a big deal in terms of production scheduling, it's curious how this continued delay would impact the film's story, if at all. The cosmic film was supposedly going to follow-up the Infinity Saga, and it's curious if they have to alter some key plot points to reflect the delay. Safe to say that it will be quite a while before fans find out with Gunn's focus now on The Suicide Squad and its upcoming spin-off.

More: Every Major MCU Villain Who Wasn't Killed Off

Source: THR

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