Few lesser-known comic book properties have had as successful a jump onto the big screen as the Guardians of the Galaxy. After the 2014 movie catapulted them into the MCU, the irreverent anti-heroes have become of one Marvel’s most popular sub-franchises. So popular, in fact, that fans will be able to enjoy a whopping four movies featuring the characters across a four year period.
This year, we got Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and then 2018 and 2019 will bring Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, which will feature Star-Lord’s gang crossing over with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the first time. Finally, it turns out that the run of one Guardians movie a year will be capped with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s release in 2020.
That’s according to director James Gunn. In one of his patented Facebook Q&A sessions with his fans – this one was in thanks to the successful home video release of Vol. 2 – Gunn was asked about when Vol. 3 would arrive. In response, he gave a brief yet illuminating answer:
“In a little under three years.”
Marvel have already scheduled three movies to be released in 2020 – in May, July and November, respectively. Thanks to Gunn, we can now narrow Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3‘s release down to one of the first two dates. Most likely May, seeing as that’s when Vol. 2 was released this year.
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 will then likely fill the July slot, leaving November currently a mystery. It could be Doctor Strange 2, though Marvel usually likes to pair their sequels up with an origin film to keep things fresh. Looks like we’ll just have to keep an eye out for that last one then.
As Gunn’s already told us, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will wrap up his trilogy of movies, with the cast likely following him out the door as well. Adam Warlock is expected to make an appearance, as is Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar and his band of Ravager captains, while the director has previously revealed that he hopes to begin filming at some point in 2018.
As for when the Guardians of the Galaxy will be seen next, well, they may have a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok. If not, though, then you’ll definitely be able to catch them in Avengers: Infinity War, which arrives on May 4th 2018.