18 Apr – Though "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2" has yet to hit cinemas, director James Gunn has been confirmed to return to helm the yet-to-start "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3". Gunn himself made the announcement via his Facebook page, just before the U.S. press junket for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". In his post, he wrote: "So, after many months of ruminations and discussions, I know the answer. I could save this answer for the first, random interviewer to ask me during the press junket but instead I thought I'd share it with the most important people in the Guardiansverse – you, the fans, who have been so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic over the past five years, it has moved me to tears on a regular basis. "So, yes, I'm returning to write and direct "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"." He adds that his love for the Guardians, "– and some of the other forthcoming heroes – goes deeper than you guys can possibly imagine".
Gunn noted that while 10 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe storytelling has been leading to "Avengers: Infinity War", "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" will set up another 10 years of storytelling for the MCU after "Avengers: Infinity War". "It will conclude the story of this iteration of the "Guardians of the Galaxy", and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond," he wrote. The buzz for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has only picked up as the days since its trailer's release went by. Test screenings for the film have scored extremely high results and box office tracking has pegged the opening weekend to gain around USD150 million. For the sequel, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker and Karen Gillan will return to reprise their roles and will be joined by MCU newcomers, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" will come to cinemas this 27 April 2017. (Photo Source: James Gunn's Facebook.)