Disney Delays Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Indefinitely

[Autbot_Benz]

Crew members, which were assembling for pre-production, are being dismissed and are free to look for new work.

The production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is being put on hold for the time being as Marvel and Disney regroup on the project, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Sources say that crew members, at this stage a small group that was prepping for pre-production, are being dismissed and are free to look for new work.

The Marvel project was to have been directed by James Gunn and was to have begun principal photography in the winter, either in January or February. The project was crewing up and was to have gone into full pre-production mode in the fall.


But Gunn was let go as the director in July when old tweets were resurfaced, likely in response to his vocal political posts. And while some held out hope that the director would be given a reprieve by Disney, a mid-August meeting with Disney chairman Alan Horn closed the door on that.

One person characterized the production hold as temporary and more of a "regrouping" as Marvel and Disney look for a filmmaker to take on the third installment of a franchise that has grossed over $1.6 billion and made stars out of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana.

"The timeline has been pushed out," says a source. Disney never set a release date for Guardians 3.

Marvel and Disney are taking a measured approach in their search for a filmmaker (one source says that Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi recently had a meeting with Marvel but it is unclear what project was discussed) and with good reason.

The controversial firing has rankled the cast which in an open letter asked the studio to reinstate Gunn. Bautista, who plays the alien warrior Drax, has continued to show his disappointment on social media, and on Thursday he tagged Disney in a tweet featuring disturbing clips of Mike Cernovich, one of the conservative figures who led a campaign to get Gunn fired.

Disney had no comment.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...firing-1137400

[CyberCubed]

Nice job, everyone.

[Andrew NDB]

Two sides to it, probably. On the Disney side they hope that with enough time, the fandom and the cast (namely Bautista) will calm down. On the Marvel side, they probably hope that with more time, maybe Disney ultimately does come around to rehiring Gunn as his "horrible crimes" fade into the rearview... and this gives them more time for Feige to be the squeaky faucet in Disney's ear about it.

[sdp]

This whole thing has been beautiful to watch unfold.

[CyberCubed]

I guess after they return to life in the next Avengers movie, that may be it for them.

Drax is most likely going to quit after that, Gamora is dead anyway, and unless Chris Pratt sticks around as Star Lord, they might as well retire them. I suppose they can still keep Groot and Raccoon since they're CG anyway.

The actors were all loyal to the director and they're all millionaires now anyway, Chris Pratt still has the Jurassic World sequels going for him.

[drgon78]

Well I have lost interest in it anyway and will not see a 3rd one without the original cast and director.

[ZariusTwo]

I thought the second one provided adequate closure anyway. Most loose ends were tied up, I didn't see the point in a third, felt more like an obligation rather than a necessity.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

I thought the second one provided adequate closure anyway. Most loose ends were tied up, I didn't see the point in a third, felt more like an obligation rather than a necessity.

Not an unfair point. And one thing that should probably be lauded is that... Gunn wasn't even a lock for Guardians 3 until a bit after 2 came out. He was famously noncommittal about it until the box office on part 2 started to come in, and then he was all, "Oh yeah. Sorry to keep you hanging. I'm totally aboard 3, for sure."

But that's just me playing devil's advocate. The reasons behind him getting ousted are B.S., and it doesn't matter if it was the left that did it, the right, or the crossing guard, the genesis of this is horsesh**.

That said, the more I think about it, the more I wonder. Is the Gunn version of GotG the best possible version of GotG? I mean, I have no idea. I've read no GotG comics. Apparently there are a lot of GotG comics fans that are super irate that Gunn has been getting it super, super wrong for two movies. Maybe let's see a director come in and let's see their take?

I say that and mean it, but no matter who goes in there, it will totally be clouded by, "But Disney fired original dude because of bullsh** reasoning."

I'm actually really surprised by Disney. They had the perfect opportunity to play to all facets. They did the whole fast and quick, immediate, "Wh-what? Weirdness reported? James Gunn? You're FIRED! We're all about family sh**! Your unrelated tweets from 15 years ago you already apologized for that we were already aware of are suddenly relevant!" to placate anyone worried about the Disney™ brand standards. Now we have the long wait, where we imagine James Gunn suffering. Articles being slung left or right.

Some months pass... and then Disney could release a press release about, "After careful deliberation and investigation, we've decided to allow James Gunn to proceed with GotG 3."

Now Disney is a hero for humoring the weirdo camps that think some in-character jokes a decade or so ago should be punishable today AND he gets to return to work to make like everyone else happy.

[snake]

Whole situation is so f*cking dumb. Without Gunn GOTG is finished.

[plastroncafe]

Without Gunn, this is the best possible solution.

[Sumac]

I wonder, what in the end will win: brave new world of censorship and eternally offended snowflakes or money?

Both sides stink, but at least in case with money, we will get a new potentially good movie, while in case of censorship we will get even more censorship, since such practice emboldens crazies.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I'd be even more disappointed if Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had been better.

As long as Avengers 4 gives me a satisfying conclusion, I'll be okay with no more GOTG movies. I'd rather have more, but it's gonna be awhile now...

[raph27]

Kevin Feige is fuming is some board room right now. Before this whole debacle started, all the news about this movie was that it would lead the MCU to more cosmic places. Depending on how true that was, the Master Plan might be royally f*cked.

[ZariusTwo]

Thor Ragnarok's Taika Waititi has been in recent talks with Marvel...it'd make sense if it was Guardians 3 since his last film was very much a cosmic picture, though the article also speculates it could be about The Eternals

https://www.cbr.com/thor-ragnarok-wa...ovie-eternals/

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by raph27

Kevin Feige is fuming is some board room right now. Before this whole debacle started, all the news about this movie was that it would lead the MCU to more cosmic places. Depending on how true that was, the Master Plan might be royally f*cked.

Well, from that standpoint it doesn't matter, since they'll still be using Gunn's draft. This just points to a delay... and with Fantastic Four and X-Men, it's not like they're lacking in other things to occupy themselves with.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Well, from that standpoint it doesn't matter, since they'll still be using Gunn's draft. This just points to a delay... and with Fantastic Four and X-Men, it's not like they're lacking in other things to occupy themselves with.

And, forgive me for my bluntness, who really cares about Guardians 3 under these circumstances? FF and X-Men are two of Marvel's most well known and revered brands, who wouldn't be more excited for less... Questionable adaptations finally being made?

I like the Guardians movies but let's be honest here, the Fantastic Four probably would have been the starting point for the Cinematic version of Cosmic Marvel, if they had the movie rights in 2014. And X-Men? I mean holy crap, just look at the sheer amount of characters and books over the years. Not to downplay their other characters, but Marvel without the X-Men really is like a star athlete with a broken arm.

Edit; Oh, and I forgot, Guardians 2 ended just fine. The only real loose thread is the Adam Warlock tease, something they can easily conclude without any of the previous cast. I would only be bummed if Avengers 4 ends in a way that makes Guardians 3 necessary, which I doubt.

[The Deadman]

Dave Bautista Now Says He's No Longer Sure He Wants To Work For Disney After James Gunn's Firing
https://www.comicbookmovie.com/guard...firing-a163288

Uh oh

[Andrew NDB]

Glenn Close actually nails it on the head. And Gunn didn't even bother to bring her back for part 2 (I thought for sure she'd be in Infinity War, at least, and should have been for the completely unseen taking of said stone).

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/guard...ut-him-a163304

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Glenn Close actually nails it on the head. And Gunn didn't even bother to bring her back for part 2 (I thought for sure she'd be in Infinity War, at least, and should have been for the completely unseen taking of said stone).

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/guard...ut-him-a163304

Weird that they deleted that article.

[IMJ]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Weird that they deleted that article.

Revisionist history is okay for liberals.