James Gunn Has Finished Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Script Draft #1

[Black Panther]

The first script draft for James Gunner's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been completed and turned in to Marvel Studios. Gunn, who wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films, is expected to wrap up his trilogy with the third installment in 2020, which will also set the stage for the future of the MCU.

Not much is known about the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 yet. Gunn has revealed that this third chapter will be the final installment featuring the current lineup of Guardians, but it's unclear what that means for the characters. The first film was a surprise hit for Marvel, introducing audiences to the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's also considered to be one of the first MCU films to have a particularly distinguished tone. Gunn followed up with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017, which introduced Mantis and teased the long-awaited arrival of Adam Warlock.

Gunn confirmed on Twitter that he has finished his first draft of the script. The post features a photo of the script’s cover page, with a caption that reads, “Every bit of my heart.” Many fans reacted positively to the reveal, including TV star Billy Eichner, who asked jokingly what his part in the film would be. Take a look:

 

The update follows Kevin Feige’s recent statement in an interview with Collider, which provided a rough idea of the production schedule for Guardians and the other upcoming MCU movies:

“James [Gunn] has delivered a draft and we begin official pre-production on that very, very soon. It’ll be shooting early next year. Captain Marvel finishes in about two weeks, Spider-Man starts in about two weeks, and then Guardians 3 will start early next year.”

So far, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the new Spider-Man sequel (recently revealed to have the subtitle Far From Home), are the only confirmed entries in Marvel’s Phase 4. It is still uncertain how the story will be affected by the events of Avengers 4, especially since most of the team was dusted by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. It is all but confirmed that most of the characters “killed” by Thanos will return from the dead. Given that Spider-Man and Black Panther were both erased and have sequels in place, it’s highly likely that Star-Lord will return to lead his team for one last ride.

It is important to note Gunn’s comment about how much “heart” was put into this project. It is evident that Guardians has indeed been a passion project as much as it has been a staple for Marvel Studios. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was heavily focused on the theme of fatherhood, and Gunn delivered on his promise that it would be emotional. It only seems natural that his conclusion to the series will be just as moving. Given that production is expected early next year, audiences will not have to wait too long to see if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a satisfying finale.