At San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios unveiled its Phase 4 slate of both movies and Disney+ shows. This era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will end in late 2021 with Thor 4, officially titled Thor: Love and Thunder, but needless to say there are movies already in development for 2022 and beyond, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Given that Avengers: Endgame saw Thor leaving Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy, some have wondered when Thor: Love and Thunder takes place in relation to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Now writer/director James Gunn has cleared up the matter with one simple word: “Before.”
On James Gunn’s Instagram post commending Avengers: Endgame for overthrowing Avatar as the highest-grossing movie of all time (not accounting for inflation), a fan asked if Thor: Love and Thunder takes place before or after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn answered the former, which poses an interesting predicament.
Naturally with Thor tagging along with the Guardians post-Avengers: Endgame, there was talk about how the God of Thunder could be part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (no, that movie would not be titled Asgardians of the Galaxy). However, now that we know Thor: Love and Thunder takes place before Guardians 3, does this mean that the threequel will be Asgardian-less?
While the prospect of Thor having more time with the Guardians is enticing given his time with them in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, particularly Rocket Raccoon, perhaps his time with them will be shorter than expected. Unless the events of Thor: Love and Thunder somehow paves the way for Thor to rejoin the Guardians, it would seem that he’s back on his own path rather than joining them on their next adventure. We’ll have to wait and see if that is indeed the case.
Initially the plan was for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to be one of the first Phase 4 movies to be released. Then, around this time last year, James Gunn was fired by Disney and Marvel due to controversial tweets of his from many years ago resurfacing.
James Gunn was hired back onto Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 this past March, but during that eight-month interim period, Gunn signed on to write and direct The Suicide Squad. So he’ll work on that DC Extended Universe feature first, and once it’s finished, Guardians 3 is next on the agenda.
It was just a week ago that Thor 4 was even confirmed, with Taika Waititi returning to write and direct the movie. Following San Diego Comic-Con, we now know that Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster will rejoin the franchise alongside Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Odinson and Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie (who’s looking for a queen), and like her comic book counterpart, Jane will take on the mantle of Thor.
Thor: Love and Thunder storms into theaters on November 5, 2021, so check back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. In the meantime, check out our Marvel movies guide to learn what else this franchise has in the works.
