Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Could Begin Filming Next Year

Writer/director James Gunn may be preparing for production on the upcoming Warner Bros. and DC Extended Universe sequel The Suicide Squad, a new report has revealed that his return to the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 couldactually begin production sometime in 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Disney Reinstates James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Gunn, who wrote and directed the first two films, was originally set to return to direct the highly-anticipated third installment in the space-faring comic book franchise, but following resurfacing of controversial tweets from very early in his career, Disney cut ties with the 52-year-old director and production was delayed until the studio found an A-list filmmaker to replace him. After months of widespread support from fans and the entire cast of the films and f behind-the-scenes discussions between Disney and Gunn, he was reinstated to write and direct the third installment. The House of Mouse will allow Gunn the time to finish production on Warner Bros.’ The Suicide Squad, for which he signed on a few months after his firing.

Principal photography for The Suicide Squad is currently set to begin in Atlanta, Georgia in September with a release date set for August 6, 2021.

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was the surprise hit of the second phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, grossing nearly $775 million at the box office and earning widespread critical acclaim for its abundance of humor, emotional story and Gunn’s direction, in addition to its soundtrack becoming the first album of its genre consisting of previously released songs to top the Billboard 200 chart and having sold over 2.5 million copies in 2014 alone. The second film hit theaters three years later and prove to be a near equal success to its predecessor, grossing over $800 million at the box office and earning more acclaim from critics and audiences who continued to praise the performances, direction, soundtrack and story while some criticized a feeling of familiarity in some of the film’s humor.

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The space-travelling team were most recently seen in the box-office breaking Avengers: Endgame and while their next solo adventure doesn’t have a release date, Gunn’s completion of the script last year and with a production set for next year should see the film hit theaters sometime in 2022.