This August, Marvel will introduce us to Guardians Of The Galaxy, the last film of Marvel’s Phase 2 before Avengers: Age Of Ultron, which itself would lead into Marvel’s Phase 3. And all this before DC even gets their act in gear; very impressive Marvel!
Age Of Ultron is also the film that kick-starts Marvel’s Phase 3, which currently has four films scheduled for release. One of them is Ant-Man, but the others remain unidentified. And while Marvel has hired writers for a third Thor and a Captain America 3, they had also previously hired scribes for Black Panther and Dr. Strange. We took a shot at guessing what those films might be, but if a new rumor is anything to go by, we’re all wrong.
JoBlo claims that one of those release dates is going to be filled by an immediate sequel, maybe the least expected sequel of all of them: according to their sources, May 6th, 2016 will bring audiences Guardians of The Galaxy 2. Yeeeah, we’re gonna doubt this one. Less than two years after the previous Guardians? For being such a crapshoot, apparently Disney is going all out, allegedly planning an animated series to air in the fall of 2015 on Disney XD. But this is the first unknown release date Marvel’s got: are they really gonna double down on Guardians before revisiting any of the other Avengers?
Guardians of The Galaxy is also being considered as the one film from Marvel with the least connection to the core Avengers movies. Though it’ll introduce a bevy of new characters, no one is expecting that Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill is going to join that team, nor are they going to recruit the talking raccoon or talking tree. Guardians is widening the Marvel universe, allowing for different heroes to gain the limelight, and Ant-Man is the first post-Age Of Ultron film, suggesting the Avengers are no longer whole at the close of that film. Could the Guardians be part of a new wave of replacement heroes defending the Earth from an intergalactic threat?
Probably not. Chris Pratt is also involved with Jurassic World. Combine that with Zoe Saldana’s possible commitment to the Avatar sequels, Dave Bautista’s newly-minted full-time return to professional wrestling, and Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel’s typically-loaded dance card, and it seems highly unlikely they’d be able to reunite that cast again so quickly. All this for the sequel to a film that hasn’t even released a trailer yet, and which only has Comic Con buzz behind it, and zero mainstream presence. That date is also still being reserved for Warner Bros.’ Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman movie, which would surely slaughter Guardians Of The Galaxy 2. Maybe following up with a direct sequel was at one time an idea floated in the Marvel offices, but it seems like more of a stretch now.
