James Gunn, Confirms ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Will Start Filming This Year

DIRECTOR James Gunn confirmed via Twitter that the third part of his cosmic trilogy will begin filming this year.

Starting filming this year would put the movie on track for its announced 2023 release, and also bodes well for the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which will be shot during filming of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and is set to stream on Disney+ in 2022.

Director Gunn assured in 2018, inquiring minds that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 would be released in 2020. But those plans crumbled to dust and blew away like victim of the blip.

The first delays came after Gunn was briefly fired by Disney — just long enough for him to be scooped up by Warner Bros. to write and direct The Suicide Squad. Then of course the global COVID-19 pandemic also pushed the film’s start date even further back.

As reported by collider.com, all of those delays have apparently impacted the planned storyline, as Guardians star Dave Bautista told EW back in December: “I believe it’s okay to say that we will go into production late next year,” Bautista says.

“I saw a script early on when we were all on schedule and James Gunn was attached before everything went nutso. I believe because [Marvel’s] whole calendar has changed [due to the pandemic shutdown and Guardians’ production delays], that storylines have changed, and they won’t intersect like originally planned.”

In addition to the third Guardians of the Galaxy, their holiday special, and The Suicide Squad, Gunn is also making a Peacemaker series for HBO Max.

As for what Gunn plans to do after the third Guardians of the Galaxy is completed, things seem very much up in the air.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is set for a 2023 release. (Rohn Romulo)