✖

Sooner or later, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will theaters and wrap up the initial trilogy of the fan-favorite Marvel franchise. Its release won't come any earlier than 2022, especially after director James Gunn took The Suicide Squad gig for Warner Brothers. The filmmaker recently confirmed he wouldn't move into pre-production on Vol. 3 until The Suicide Squad was completely in the can. Thanks to a recent Instagram comment, it would seem Gunn anticipates that happening at some point within the next 12 months.

When asked about for any Guardians 3 news, Gunn told a fan he "won't start filming for a year or so," meaning production likely won't happen until the first of 2021 or the few remaining days in 2020 at the earliest.

(Photo: Instagram / James Gunn)

Recent reports suggested the third Guardians outing could fall on the February 2023 release date Marvel Studios currently has reserved, meaning the film would have virtually all of 2021 and 2022 for principal photography, reshoots, and post-production. That's certainly more than enough time to create an epic space opera suitable for closing out a trilogy.

We still don't know much about the film itself, though Guardians of the Galaxy star Karen Gillan says fans should expect an "amazing" movie from Gunn his team.

“I can say that I’ve read it and it’s amazing,” Gillan recently told Yahoo! Entertainment. “We’re all really excited that James is back to complete the trilogy because it wouldn’t have felt right without him. It’s a wonderful, wonderful script.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has yet to set a release date.

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1, 2020, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022.

What surprises do you hope are in store for Vol. 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo by Richard Harbaugh/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images