Fast forward to today, and Gunn just celebrated wrapping up filming on what could be his final Marvel Studios outing.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 7, 2022 It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that Gunn could have probably been more open to return for a fourth Guardians of the Galaxy film, if not with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in 2017, Gunn confirmed that he wanted to get the threequel out as soon as possible while doing promotional rounds for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Unfortunately, Disney unceremoniously fired Gunn after some of his inappropriate but older tweets went viral online. Gunn and Disney eventually reconciled, but it wasn’t until after Gunn had a chance to work for the other side. In between 2017 and now, Gunn has released last year’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker for the DC Extended Universe. Not only that, but Gunn is working on multiple spin-offs for HBO Max, including a producer role for the Voila Davis-led off-shoot. All told, it will have been six years since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came out when the next Guardians of the Galaxy film hits theaters next year. If it’s any consolation, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will most likely stick to its May 5, 2023 launch date now. Back in October, we found out that the third Guardians of the Galaxy film is the only one of six then-upcoming MCU films that wasn’t delayed. With a year to go to do post-production work, Gunn has more than enough time to polish everything to give the MCU’s next outer space outing the quality it deserves. Until then, Marvel fans can check out Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8. As seen in the Chris Hemsworth-led movie’s first trailer, Chris Pratt’s Starlord and the rest of the crew will lend Thor a hand in his quest to discover himself.

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