Gunn Gives GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 Update, Offers Insight On MCU Creative Process And Fox Characters

Read Time:2 Minute, 54 Second

While some may still be mourning the loss of several key Guardians at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, writer-director James Gunn has given fans some details about where he’s at with Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 that should put a smile on their faces. He seems to be operating under the assumption that it’s a foregone conclusion to fans around the world that a good portion of Infinity War‘s shocking ending will be remedied in next year’s Avengers 4, so he seems to have no problem opening up about Guardians 3.

Over on his Facepage page, Gunn put up the following post:

That caption, which reads “Writing Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 right now,” piqued the curiosity of fans. Gunn, ever affable and approachable on social media, actually took to the time to respond to a few queries about the film- which he has previously stated would mark “the end of this iteration of the Guardians.”

For starters, he revealed how far along into the writing process he is for Vol. 3, which is said to start filming next January:

“I’m more than a year into the process, so the script is far along. For many many months I first write the treatment which is 80 pages or so with photographs. That turns into GotG – I’m now rewriting and making sure my rough draft works.”

With regard to the characters he’s including in the film, Gunn offered a couple of interesting answers. The questions he fielded ranged from “Who can you include?” to “Now that Disney owns Fox, are you bringing in any Fantastic Four-related characters?” and his two most direct answers to those kinds of questions were:

“I can add anyone Marvel owns. But I’ve already chosen the characters…”

[Regarding Fox Characters Popping Up] “Not gonna happen in any major way. Too far along.”

That “not in a major way” bit heavily implies that any Fox/Marvel characters we may see in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 would likely only appear in the capacity of an Easter Egg, not as part of the actual plot of the film.

And what about the kind of interference that fans like to accuse Marvel Studios of? Gunn was asked if Kevin Feige and the Marvel brass put any red tape on what he can and can’t do, or tell him how to write the movie. The filmmaker replied with this:

“I go through zero red tape. I get constructive criticism from Marvel about how to make the script/movie better which is almost always extremely helpful. But I’m never told I HAVE to do that. And the overall Marvel plan almost never comes up.”

We’re inclined to believe him, considering these movies are set so far beyond the scope of what the rest of the MCU films are doing. He doesn’t have to worry about the kinds of things that other Marvel directors like Peyton Reed, Scott Derrickson, or Jon Watts have to consider- since their characters (Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man, respectively) aren’t directly linked to the very earthly tales that must build to whatever the next Avengers movie is. This gives Gunn a ton of breathing room.

Are you excited to know that Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is this far along, and that Gunn pretty much has free rein to tell whatever kind of story- with whatever characters- he chooses?

SOURCE: James Gunn (via MCU Cosmic)