After the massive success of Guardians of the Galaxy, which Marvel was super nervous about beforehand, writer/director James Gunn didn't automatically agree to doing the sequel. To his credit, he took time to assess whether joining the bunch of a-holes for another universe-spanning adventure was what he really wanted, and ultimately he decided that yes, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would be in his future. And once again speculation has started to mount over his return for a third movie, but this time Gunn decided to end any suspense early.
OF COURSE he's coming back. Here's his rather humorous announcement on Facebook:
Well, this week we start the U.S. press junket, before traveling to Europe at the end of the week. Of course I know some of the questions that come up a lot – “Wasn’t there a lot more pressure dealing with the sequel of a beloved film?” (No, there was less, because this time I knew there was an audience waiting to see it!) and, “What was it like working with Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone?” (Daunting and at times overwhelming – I ran around in my backyard as a kid pretending to be Snake Plissken and John Rambo, so these guys are true icons to me.)
But the question that comes up perhaps the most is, “What’s the deal with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and are you going to direct?”
Before I was able to honestly answer this, I needed to know it was, in my heart, what I truly felt called to do. There is a history in Hollywood of haphazard endings to trilogies, and I didn’t want to become a part of that dishonorable tradition of pretending the third one doesn’t exist. I couldn’t do it for the money, and I couldn’t do it because it was what other people wanted me to do. I needed to do it because it was what I needed to do. I have never made choices in my career based on anything other than passion and love for the stories and characters, and I didn’t want to start now.
So, after many months of ruminations and discussions, I know the answer. I could save this answer for the first, random interviewer to ask me during the press junket but instead I thought I’d share it with the most important people in the Guardiansverse – you, the fans, who have been so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic over the past five years, it has moved me to tears on a regular basis.
So, yes, I’m returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
As Marvel begins to take a more offbeat approach to some of their characters (see the Thor: Ragnarok trailer), Gunn is clearly the guy who has helped lead the way. After that, who knows what Gunn's future holds with Marvel. He may decide to step away and make more movies like The Belko Experiment, or perhaps he'll jump to a different character. It's pretty much wide open to him at this point.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens May 5th.
