Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Be James Gunn’s Last

Written by Edwin Francisco

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Be James Gunn’s Last

An interview with James Gunn with the New York Times tells that he might end his run on Marvel with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

We all know that Gunn still has a couple of projects under Marvel Studios which is the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

After the last movie, he’s not sure if he still plans to continue with Marvel.

James Gunn told the New York Times:

I have no clue what I’m going to do. For me, Guardians 3 is probably the last one. I don’t know about doing it again.

A few years ago, Disney had to let go of James Gunn because of his old posts which resurfaced.

Gunn was worried about what would happen to his career after that issue.

It was a blessing that Warner Bros. swooped in and discussed that he can work with them.

He was given the option to do a DC film. Toby Emmerich (Warner Bros Pictures Group chairman) even offered Superman to him.

Even though he was a fan of Superman, he didn’t want the commitment that follows with it.

He chose to work on The Suicide Squad instead.

James Gunn explained:

I really loved John Ostrander’s take, which was taking these Z-grade villains and throwing them into black-ops situations where they were totally disposable and they wouldn’t come out alive. I loved The Dirty Dozen as a kid. It’s that same concept, mixed with a DC comic.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Be James Gunn’s Last

Image: DC Films

James Gunn was even given free reign to do whatever he wanted with Warner Bros.

Working on an environment where he had no restrictions on what he wanted to do was a freeing experience for him.

It was something that he needed to do after what happened with Marvel.

James Gunn added:

When Warner Bros. said they wanted me to do this, I watched the first movie for the first time, and I called them back and said, what do I have to keep from this movie? And they said, nothing. They said, listen, we would love it if Margot’s in the movie but she doesn’t have to be. You could come up with all new characters or you could keep all the same characters.

James Gunn is one of the few directors to work on both Marvel Studios and DC Films.

He pointed out the difference between them:

I do find, because of the ability to do different stuff in the DC multiverse, it’s fun. They’re starting to really resemble their comic books. The Marvel Universe has always been a little more cohesive, and DC has always had more great single runs. They had The Dark Knight Returns. They had Watchmen. They had The Killing Joke. They had Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. The fact that they did Joker, which is a totally different type of movie, that to me is cool. I’m very excited about Matt’s movie [The Batman, from Matt Reeves]. They’re getting some really good filmmakers involved. They’re always going to be hit or miss — I just don’t want them to get boring.

He was also asked if he is going to do anything new for Warner Bros., but he wasn’t sure either.

Nevertheless, he is open to working on other projects with Warner because he is provided the freedom to do what he wants.

This doesn’t mean that he’s closed his options on Marvel either.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Be James Gunn’s Last

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Be James Gunn’s Last

Image: DC Comics, DC Films

It does seem that James Gunn might need some time off, since the emotional roller coaster he went through the last few of years.

The Guardians is not the only thing he’s focused on right after his work on the upcoming The Suicide Squad.

He’s also currently working on Peacemaker (2022) for DC Films, executive producer of Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) for Marvel Studios, writer and producer of Coyote vs. Acme (2023) for Warner Bros.

James Gunn is just about to finish the story that he wanted to tell for Guardians.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2023.

A trilogy and a TV special that is connected to a multi-story universe is not easy to work on.

Gunn is considering resting after working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

James Gunn admitted:

Right now I really just want to nap, but I still have another major motion picture to make before that. I can’t wait to see the Marvel gang again — those people are my family. It’s so much different than people on Twitter. Everybody is significantly nicer.

James Gunn might retire after the projects that are lined up for him, which also includes DC projects, too.

Related: Marvel Studios-DC Films Movie Crossover Has Been Discussed

Marvel Studios-DC Films Movie Crossover Has Been Discussed

Marvel Studios-DC Films Movie Crossover Has Been Discussed