During the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Thor Odinson met the Guardians of the Galaxy and quickly established a fun rapport with them, particularly Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Avengers: Endgame ended with the God of Thunder leaving Earth with the Guardians, and according to Vin Diesel, a.k.a. the voice of Groot, some of the Guardians will show up in Thor: Love and Thunder. In the actor’s words:
I am waiting and excited for my friend James Gunn to knock this next one out of the park. He took The Suicide Squad so he's about to embark on it. Thor will also, the director talked to me about Thor will incorporate some of the Guardians of the Galaxy. That'll be very interesting, nobody knows, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.
Vin Diesel delivered the following comments while promoting his new movie Bloodshot to Comicbook.com. Although we already knew that familiar faces like Jane Foster, Valkyrie and Korg would be back for Thor: Love and Thunder, this is the first mention of the Guardians of the Galaxy showing up in the God of Thunder’s fourth movie. However, considering how the Marvel Cinematic Universe slate has changed in the last several years, it does make sense for the Guardians to have a presence in it.
Originally the plan was for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to come out in 2020, but due to James Gunn being fired and then rehired onto the threequel in the span of eight months, along with Gunn agreeing to write and direct The Suicide Squad during that interim period, that required the project to be pushed back. So now Gunn will work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 once he’s finished with The Suicide Squad, while Thor: Love and Thunder is set to wrap up Phase 4 in late 2021.
Had Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stayed in its original slot, one would imagine there was a strong chance of Thor taking part in the movie since he was hanging out with them again. Now with Thor: Love and Thunder coming out and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 being delayed, it makes sense that some Guardians would appear there instead in order to tie back to where we left off with them and Thor in Avengers: Endgame.
That said, not only is it unclear which Guardians of the Galaxy will appear in Thor: Love and Thunder, there’s no word on how involved they’ll be in the story. Will these Guardians be integral supporting characters? Or are they simply cameoing in the effort to explain why Thor has exited the team? Either way, it’ll be interesting to see if their appearances in any way set up what’s to come in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Thus far, no official plot details for Thor: Love and Thunder have been revealed other than the returning Jane Foster will somehow take on the mantle of The Mighty Thor and that Valkyrie, who is now serving as the king of New Asgard, will be searching for her queen. In addition to all the other returning faces, it’s been confirmed that Christian Bale is playing Love and Thunder’s villain, although the nefarious individual hasn’t been identified yet.
Along with reprising Korg, Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi is returning to direct Thor: Love and Thunder, and he also co-wrote the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. As for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there’s no word on when it will be released, but if certain Guardians will show up in Love and Thunder, maybe there’s a chance that Thor could show up in their next movie.
Thor: Love and Thunder storms into theaters on November 5, 2021. Be sure to look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else the MCU has on the way.
