‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ Takes Place After ‘Infinity War’, Says James Gunn
It doesn’t get more official than this:Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3directorJames Gunnhas confirmed that the upcoming sequel will take place afterAvengers: Infinity War. This news puts the kibosh in theRusso Brothers' claim that the third entry in theGuardianfranchise might be set beforeInfinity War.Spoilers forInfinity Warfollow.
The end ofAvengers: Infinity Warwas shocking, but it also created a unique problem for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the dramatic conclusion, half of the universe’s population is erased from existence – including every member of theGuardians of the Galaxy, save for Rocket (and Nebula, if you want to count her as aGuardianmember).
But here’s the thing: we already knewGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3would hit theaters afterInfinity War. Which would mean that the “deaths” inInfinity Warcouldn’t really be permanent, unlessVol. 3was going to be solely focused on Rocket and Nebula.
Despite this foreknowledge,Infinity Wardirectors the Russo Brothers have been swearing up and down that the deaths inInfinity Warare permanent. When pressed for an explanation as to how a film likeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3might work if all the team members are dead and gone, Anthony Russosaid:
“Here’s the thing, I think it’s important to remember anything is possible in the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe]. Just because there’s a sequel on the books doesn’t mean … people become accustomed to time moving linearly in the MCU. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. There’s a lot of very inventive ways of where the story can go.”
Joe Russo added:
“There’s four years between Guardians 2 and Infinity War. That’s a long time, and a lot of Guardians stories to tell. Again, as Anthony said, don’t expect everything to move forward in a linear fashion in the Marvel universe.”
But now we can put this obfuscating to bed. A fan reached out to director James Gunn on Twitter for an answer as to whenGuardians Vol. 3might be set, and Gunn firmly replied that the film would indeed take place afterInfinity War.
Of course, one could argue that Gamora was the onlyGuardianwho technicallydiedinInfinity War, and the others just simply evaporated. But I have a hard time believing thatGuardians Vol. 3would bring every team member backexceptGamora.
All in all, it’s somewhat refreshing to see Gunn state the obvious here. Yesterday,GuardiansstarChris Pratttried to dance around the issue, tellingMTVthat the upcoming film “might take place in the past. It might be a prequel.” Gunn clearly has no interest in keeping this ruse going, and honestly, that’s for the best. Will this create an issue with the ending ofInfinity War? Sure! But I have no doubt thatAvengers 4will clarify things when it hits theaters next year.
