In 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy proved to be an unexpected critical and financial success. For a property focused on what was at the time a group of completely unknown characters to the mainstream world, nobody expected the movie to be the kind of mega-hit that it was. As a result, it was a no-brainer for the central characters to be included in not only the next couple of Avengers movies but for two sequels to be greenlit.

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The third entry has had a long and tumultuous road to getting made, but it finally will be made with the plot taking place four years after the events of Avengers: Endgame, with the Guardians being accompanied by a different version of Gamora misplaced out of time. But that's not all fans know about the threequel so far.

10 James Gunn Is Back Directing

james gunn sawyer harvey weinstein

The status of James Gunn had constantly been in jeopardy ever since 2018 and as a result, the making of the movie and its release date had all been thrown off of the schedule.

For those who may not remember, it all started when older tweets from the previous decade by Gunn were controversial enough to get Gunn fired by Disney and removed from the third Guardians installment altogether. However, the public outcry from fans begging the studio to rehire Gunn was strong enough to put him back in the director's chair the following year.

9 It Will Be Released In 2023

Guardians of the Galaxy cast members in the movie

In addition to Gunn being fired and then rehired between 2018 and 2019, 2020 saw another setback for the next entry in the Guardians trilogy and, frankly, a setback for the Hollywood industry as a whole.

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Obviously, the novel coronavirus pandemic put most of the world on pause for a while until recently where production has gone underway again. Per Disney's Investor's Day announcements from December 2020 (Cinemablend), the sequel will be released to theaters in the year 2023. But maybe fans don't have to wait that long to see their favorite MCU squad.

8 It Won't Be The Only Sequel

Thor points a spoon in Star-Lord's face in Infinity War

While audiences can look forward to 2023 being the year that a second sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy finally comes to fruition, they won't have to wait that long to see the Guardians gang together again.

It was also revealed during that fateful Investor's Day that a holiday special - appropriately titled The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - will be airing exclusively on Disney Plus in late 2022. In addition, it has already been confirmed that the Guardians will be making an appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, set to release on February 11th, 2022.

7 Things Could Get Emotional

Yondu holds Peter's face as he dies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.

The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is no stranger to producing a good tearjerker in between all of the action and humor - after all, the first movie opened with Quill's mother dying from cancer - but this new threequel seems to promise to be an entirely new type of emotional rollercoaster.

At least, that's what writer/director James Gunn seemed to tease in a tweet, admitting that he cried a lot while writing the script. No one knows exactly what the plot could be about yet, but at least everyone has a heads up about needing to walk into the theater with tissues.

6 Mantis Will Return

Mantis meets the Guardians

It is pretty safe to assume that the main Guardians of the Galaxy will be returning in their central roles (i.e. Dave Bautista as Drax, Chris Pratt as Peter "Star-Lord" Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, etc.), but any character from previous movies who exist outside of the core group is up in the air for now until actors get confirmed.

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Thankfully, at the very least, Pom Klementieff will be returning as Mantis, something that the actress confirmed herself back in 2017 in an Instagram post expressing her excitement to appear in the sequels. Even with the delays from more recent years, it's safe to say her inclusion will still stand.

5 The Filmmakers Will Use Mandalorian Tech

Mandalorian-Katee-Sackhoff-Luke-Cameo-Header

In 2020 especially, The Mandalorian has captured the hearts of many as the hottest television show of the year. One of the reasons why fans were so immersed with the aesthetic that the show provided was because that aesthetic was created with a new background stage technology, better known as Stagecraft.

On Twitter, a fan asked director James Gunn if he will be using this tech on the set of the new Guardians sequel and he simply replied, "yes, some. Where it fits." It is a vague answer as far as how much of the tech will be used, but nonetheless, it has been confirmed that this technology will be used.

4 Kraglin Will Return

Kraglin in the MCU

Sean Gunn's performance as Kraglin across the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and even his Avengers: Endgame cameo proved to be an unexpected source of comic relief that won the audience's hearts. He has now been confirmed to be returning for the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie and is expected to have an even larger role.

That should not be too much of a surprise. Not only because he's proved to be such a fan favorite in previous movies, but of course, with James Gunn at the helm, it makes sense for the director to ensure his little brother's return.

3 Adam Warlock Might Be Coming Too

Adam-Warlock

For those who have read The Infinity Gauntlet by Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim, and understand how influential that graphic novel is in the making of both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, they know that one superhero who plays a major role in that story is Adam Warlock, despite him never being introduced in the MCU, let alone appearing in those aforementioned movies.

However, those same fans might have taken notice to Guardians of the Galaxy 2's mid-credits scene saw Ayesha gaze at a cocoon before muttering, "Adam." It looks like Adam Warlock may finally make his debut in the next movie.

2 Nebula & Rocket Have Important Arcs

Nebula and Gamora

The last Guardians of the Galaxy movie saw Nebula go through something of a redemption arc reuniting with Gamora. Meanwhile, Rocket Raccoon's backstory has been addressed in ebbs and flows over the course of the first two movies.

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Fans who were hoping for some follow up with either of these characters can look forward to the third installment where James Gunn promised on Instagram that his two favorite arcs to write for the third movie was for Rocket and Nebula, although he also admitted that plenty of characters in the cast will go through different arcs in the movie.

1 It's The Last Time With The OG Team

Movies Gamora And Star-Lord Captain Kirk And Star-Lord Guardians Of The Galaxy

In the past, James Gunn has teased this upcoming sequel as an "epic conclusion" to the story between the fan-favorite central characters that all began with the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Keep in mind that this may not necessarily mean that this is going to be the end of the Guardians themselves or even the Guardians as a franchise.

Rather, it appears that whatever happens in this third movie is going to put an end to the Guardians team as we know it, shaking things up for the future of the team.

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