James Gunn Officially Announces Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 Production Start

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 director James Gunn has officially announced the start of production on the highly anticipated Marvel threequel. Gunn posted the official notice that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is now shooting after Marvel fans have been following weeks of pre-production teases coming from Gunn and the cast of the film, which includes Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax) and Zoe Saldana (Gamora). In addition to the returning Guardians team members, Guardians 3 will also be the highly-anticipated introduction of Marvel cosmic character Adam Warlock, who will be played by We're The Millers star Will Poulter. 

Here is James Gunn's official announcement of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 now being in production:

"It's been a strange & long & at times challenging journey to get here, but the obstacles along the way have only made this moment more blissful. Back on set with my Guardians family for the first day of shooting #gotgvol3" --James Gunn

As Gunn indicates in his tweet, it has been a "strange long at times challenging journey" to get cameras rolling on Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. Marvel shocked fans in Fall 2018 when it was announced that Disney fired Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, following some "offensive old tweets" from the filmmaker that resurfaced (or were purposefully dragged up?) on social media. After Disney/Marvel fired James Gunn, Warner Bros./DC scooped him up for The Suicide Squad, and by Spring of 2019, Disney came back and rehired Gunn again. That drama - followed by the unexpected cataclysm of the COVID-19 pandemic - has set Guardians 3 much further back in the MCU Phase 4 lineup than anyone imagined. 

Fans have been scrambling to learn any details about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, which James Gunn has declared to be the end of his trilogy - and really, the end of the Guardians saga as we know it. Big deaths and bigger transitions are clearly baked into Gunn's script for the threequel - but how, exactly, things will shake ou is totally unknown. 

Marvel's Eternals may have given us some more clues as to what Gunn may be doing with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 - and what happens after it. While on Earth, Marvel Studios is clearly gathering a team of characters together to form the Young Avengers (and possibly a Thunderbolts team), in the cosmos it looks like Adam Warlock and his Infinity Watch could be on the way, as well. 

(Eternals Spoilers Follow!)

Eternals mid-credits scene revealed Pip The Troll (Patton Oswalt) - an Infinity Watch member who is close to Adam Warlock and Drax in the comics. Pip could show up in Guardians 3 alongside his pal Starfox (Harry Styles) and help transition the franchise from the Guardians era to what comes next. 

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 will be in theaters on May 5, 2023.