Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Star Believes Storylines Have Changed

While all eyes are currently on James Gunn's next film, The Suicide Squad, the writer/director is still firmly entrenched in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, prepping Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. While we haven't heard much about the project lately, star Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer in the MCU, has given a bit of an update.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Bautista said he believed some of the movie's plot, along with the MCU as a whole, has changed from the initial concept. "I saw a script early on when we were all on schedule and James Gunn was attached before everything went nutso," the actor explained. "I believe because [Marvel's] whole calendar has changed [due to the pandemic shutdown and Guardians' production delays], that storylines have changed, and they won't intersect like originally planned. Obviously, we lost Chadwick [Boseman], so I don't know where that leaves Black Panther. I haven't seen a new script, is the short answer."

While it certainly seems like Bautista is unsure about what will happen in the next films, and he has yet to see an updated Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 script, it makes sense that the story would be different from what was originally pitched. After all, when Marvel Studios first announced a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, that was before Gunn was fired from the film, before being rehired back. In that time, he's been heavily invested in making The Suicide Squad and is now working on a companion TV series for HBO Max that centers on John Cena's character, Peacemaker.

What's more, production on a third Guardians movie still isn't set to begin for some time. According to Bautista, "I believe it's okay to say that we will go into production late next year."

What's worth noting in his vague remarks, though, is where Bautista says that the films won't intersect like it was originally planned to. It remains to be seen whether he's speaking specifically about Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, which was set to feature Chris Hemsworth joining the gang as Thor, or if he's talking about the MCU as a whole.

For the most part, it looks as though a lot of the projects in the works are dealing heavily with the multiverse--WandaVision, sequels to Doctor Strange and Spider-Man--there's no telling what's going to happen with the rest of the films. We know Black Widow is something of a prequel, while there are a number of MCU Disney+ shows and movies in the works that we know little about, including Inhumans, which introduced another entirely new cast of characters. Perhaps Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to splinter in a number of different directions, before tying all the loose ends together in the future for another massive team-up film.

For now, Marvel fans just have to be patient. WandaVision will arrive on Disney+ in January to give the first real hint of whatever is to come. However, based on the trailers, it's not going to be a very obvious hint.