James Gunn is currently in the final stretch of pre-production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with cameras set to start rolling before the end of the year. The filmmaker has confirmed that it’ll be his last time directing a movie starring the motley crew of thieves, petty criminals and now universe-saving heroes, while Dave Bautista is also bowing out as Drax.
That would indicate that the Guardians have reached the end of an era, but there are still plenty of stories to be told involving Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana’s Gamora or Karen Gillan’s Nebula, so they could be sticking around the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large for a while to come.
Avengers: Endgame marked the first time Peter Quill had been to Earth since he was initially snatched away by the Ravagers in 1988, but he didn’t stay any longer than he had to. Responding to a fan on Twitter, Gunn embarked on a lengthy thread detailing whether or not the Missouri native would ever return to his home planet, which you can see below.
That’s not to say somebody else won’t be sending Yondu’s adopted son back to the land of his birth, we just won’t be seeing it happen on James Gunn’s watch. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will look to close the trilogy in suitably spectacular fashion, but still leave the door open for several of the stars to head down a new path.