There's one beloved member of the Guardians of the Galaxy that won't be entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe anytime soon: Bug.In a thread on Twitter, director James Gunn praised his experience working with actor Chukwudi Iwuji on Peacemaker and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The comment came in response to a video of Iwuji praising his time working with Gunn. Another user said that they could see Iwuji's character coming from the "MCU Quantumverse," to which Gunn responded, "Marvel doesn't have the rights to Bug." Gunn later clarified that Hasbro has the rights to Bug.
Created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, Bug first appeared in 1979's Micronauts #1. The series was based on a toy line from Takara, with Bug drawing from a character called Galactic Warrior. Originating in the Microverse, Bug originally served as a member of the Micronauts, using his enhanced senses and abilities to help the team. Later, Bug joined the second iteration of the modern Guardians of the Galaxy team. In an interview from 2014, Gunn actually revealed there was a version of the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 that featured Bug. Those plans, of course, never came to fruition due to rights issues.
Gunn is a director known best for his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy series, having helmed the original 2014 film and its 2017 sequel. Both films have performed well at the box office and received praise from critics. Outside of the MCU, Gunn directed 2021's The Suicide Squad, which focused on the titular DC Extended Universe team. Like his other superhero outings, The Suicide Squad performed well critically and, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a dual release on HBO Max, commercially.
Gunn's next MCU film is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which he says will be his last movie in the series. Plot details for the third Guardians of the Galaxy film are scare at this time. However, the title will see Will Poulter debut as Adam Warlock and Sylvester Stallone reprise his role as Stakar Ogord, a member of the Ravagers. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is also said to end this iteration of the team. The movie will also seemingly conclude the story of Drax the Destroyer, as Dave Bautista has said that he will depart the MCU along with Gunn.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled for release on May 5, 2023.
Source: Twitter