As we’ve seen with the Danny Boyle situation and the James Bond franchise, the loss of a director can cause ripples of problems that can grow into a tidal wave. And think about it, he really has no connection to the series outside of the movie he was about to make. In the case of James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy, he has been instrumental to it in every single phase, and it’s safe to say much of its success is due in large part to him and his personality quirks.
So this news should come as no surprise. Production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been halted for now, just as pre-production was to begin this fall with plans for shooting in January. Crew members have been told they are free to seek work elsewhere and filming is now in a state of limbo. But without Gunn, who was fired last month over controversial tweets, there was little hope of righting the course so quickly. Despite the film’s cast and certainly the movies’ fans rallying together in support of Gunn, Disney held firm on their decision to let him go. That puts them in the unenviable position of finding someone to replace the franchise’s driving force, and clearly that is not going to be an easy job.
THR calls the delay a temporary “‘regrouping’ as Marvel and Disney look for a filmmaker to take on the third installment of a franchise.” Another issue is whether they will continue to use Gunn’s screenplay, which presumably would have found a way to wrap-up the trilogy. If Disney hires someone like Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi, a popular pick to be sure, then he would probably want to do a rewrite or even start from scratch. All in all, it sounds like Vol. 3 will miss its loose 2020 release date, which may be why Marvel has an unidentified film shooting next summer in hopes of slotting something else in that spot.
My guess is that whatever happens in Avengers 4, they find another way to kill off Drax because Dave Bautista is still pissed and still very vocal about Gunn’s firing, and he doesn’t seem to care if it costs him his job.
