It's only been four months since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released in theaters, but many eyes are looking towards the team's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to the cosmic heroes returning in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been announced and is expected to be released in 2020. However, for those who've wondered if director/writer James Gunn might one day might tackle a possible Guardians of the Galaxy 4, it doesn't sound like that's in the cards. As he said:
I think it is very unlikely that I would ever come back for another Guardians movie. But that doesn't mean- I'm still working on other projects with Marvel. In terms of developing them and where some of the characters from Guardians go, where some of the other cosmic characters we haven't even met yet- what happens with them and various ideas.
It's way too soon to tell Marvel will green light a Guardians of the Galaxy 4, but even if that does happen years from now, James Gunn made it clear on his recent Facebook Live Q&A the chances of him working on it are extremely slim. Fortunately for those who enjoy Gunn's work in the MCU, it sounds like he's cooking up some other ideas with the franchise's brass for post-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and maybe that entails one or more members from the main Guardians team going on their own adventures. In other words, even though Gunn doesn't plan on helming a fourth Guardians of the Galaxy movie, that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't keep playing around in that proverbial sandbox, like through a Rocket Raccoon/Groot movie or a Nebula movie.
When James Gunn announced earlier this year that would return to oversee Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he mentioned that not only will that movie conclude the Guardians trilogy, it would also set the stage for the Marvel cosmic universe for the next decade. What this means for Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Nebula and Mantis as a team unit is unclear. Maybe they'll still all be together by the time Vol. 3 concludes, or maybe they'll have disbanded. Either way, expect the story following this current iteration of the Guardians to wrap up in three years. But with some/all of the Guardians sticking around the MCU afterwards, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 having introduced the "original" Guardians and plenty of other cosmic Marvel characters who still haven't been introduced in the MCU, there's a lot to look forward to in this franchise outside of an Earth setting.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now available for purchase on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD, and the Guardians themselves will return to the silver screen when Avengers: Infinity War is released on May 4, 2018.
