Before Disney parted ways with James Gunn over a series of offensive tweets last month, it was rumoured that GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 would help to launch the next decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which would put a greater emphasis on the Cosmic side of the franchise. However, with the news that the project is being put on hold while Disney regroups, it's perfectly fine to question the future of the GUARDIANS franchise. Disney is obviously hoping to get someone else to helm the film, but with the majority of the cast coming out in support of James Gunn, it won't be an easy task to keep everyone happy.
Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY franchise, recently spoke with Digital Spy about the delay of the third film and even suggested that it could have an impact on what happens with the Guardians in AVENGERS 4.
It's kind of a strange situation to be in now where we've lost our director for Guardians. Guardians 3 is really up in the air and I don't know what they're going to do with it. It's on permanent hold for now, and that may make a difference in what they do with our characters in Avengers 4. To be honest with you, right now I really don't know.
Dave Bautista added that he's shot most of his part in AVENGERS 4 already, but he does have two days worth of reshoots coming up. "I have some really great scenes that I hope they use," Bautista said. "But I guess that it remains to be seen what they'll do with the characters." I can't imagine that any big changes would be made to the Guardians' story in AVENGERS 4 as a result of the delay to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, but it will be interesting to see where the film leaves them.
AVENGERS 4 is set for a May 3, 2019 release.