‘Guardians of the Galaxy 4’ Is Back on the Menu

We just had yet another cataclysmic shakeup in Hollywood. This one benefits The Walt Disney Company and especially Marvel.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 is back on the menu, my friends! Here’s what just happened and why it opens a previously closed door in the MCU.

The Gunn Show

Let’s just say that director James Gunn’s relationship with Disney has been complicated. In 2010, Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel, discussed several potential projects.

He laid out theoretical plans for an obscure group of superheroes. You know them now as the Guardians of the Galaxy, but virtually nobody knew them then.

In 2012, Feige grew serious about the project and approached a few directors. Colin Trevorrow, who had just crafted the brilliant Safety Not Guaranteed, had the first crack at it.

He declined in favor of Jurassic World, which was the correct choice to the tune of $1.67 billion. At this point, Feige pivoted to a largely unheralded director whose brother was more famous.

Sean Gunn had co-starred as Kirk on the beloved series, Gilmore Girls. James Gunn had directed films like Slither, which I saw on opening day, but you probably don’t know.

His movies were decidedly weird, as he’d learned his craft at Troma Entertainment. However, Gunn had dabbled in mainstream entertainment by writing the script for 2004’s Dawn of the Dead.

That story was so good it accidentally unleashed Zack Snyder on the world. So, Kevin Feige took a chance on James Gunn, and his risk was rewarded in spades.

Guardians of the Galaxy earned $773 million, which isn’t even the best part. Disney favored this brand due to the licensing potential of two characters.

Rocket Raccoon and Groot turned into merchandising goldmines, especially the latter. Disney quickly demanded a sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

While the word of mouth on this one proved divisive, it out-earned the original.

Suddenly, Gunn was a Hollywood powerhouse with an $869 million blockbuster on his resume. People cared about what he had to say, and that’s what got him in trouble.

Here You Come Again

After the GotG sequel debuted in theaters, the outspoken Gunn came under fire. While Disney planned Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, critics tracked Gunn’s social media history.

This is where I remind you that he’s a bit of a weirdo and an outspoken one at that. Let’s just say that many of the posts Gunn made before he was famous…weren’t great.

While Gunn came under scrutiny for political reasons, the posts outraged many. So, Disney fired Gunn, which was something the company really didn’t want to do.

By this point, Gunn’s storytelling prowess had generated billions of dollars. For his part, Gunn was basically traded to the other team. DC happily accepted him.

Gunn created The Suicide Squad, a comic book movie negatively impacted by the pandemic. The film was a box office bomb, earning less than its budget.

However, Gunn developed relationships at Warner Bros. that paid later dividends. After a time, absence made the heart grow fonder at Disney.

The company rehired Gunn to create the third GotG film, which had gone nowhere without him. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earned $846 million, making it the number four release of 2023.

By this point, Gunn had already switched sides again, though. Realizing that the grass wasn’t greener at home, Gunn took a more permanent job at DC.

Having impressed new CEO David Zaslav, Gunn earned a job promotion. Zaslav appointed Gunn as the CEO and Co-Chairman of DC Films.

The director had become the de facto Kevin Feige at DC. He’d also worked for Marvel twice and DC twice in a span of six years. That’s…not easy to do.

You Can See Where I’m Going with This

You’ll never guess what just happened! Okay, you should already know. David Zaslav never positioned James Gunn to succeed at DC.

If anything, Zaslav hired Gunn with the intention of delaying the inevitable for a time. Zaslav had every intention of selling the entity he created, Warner Bros. Discovery.

To streamline that process, he needed to create the illusion of success at DC. So, the CEO hired Gunn to please fans of DC and show them forward progress.

Ultimately, Gunn has directed only two films since taking control at DC. His Superman reboot was a modest success, earning $619 million against a $225 million budget.

Gunn did earn the bragging rights that his 2025 release outperformed all three of Marvel’s titles. The Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, will debut in theaters in 2027.

Gunn won’t be around for it, as Skydance/Paramount recently acquired Warner Bros. Discovery. Once that transaction had been finalized, Gunn’s fate was sealed.

His other projects as the head of DC haven’t performed well at all. Supergirl was a box office disaster, while Clayface is too modest in scale to move the needle.

Gunn’s hands were largely tied in that the notoriously cheap Zaslav wouldn’t commit to a full DC lineup. Instead, Gunn largely oversaw HBO Max/Max streaming projects.

On November 9^th, Variety reported that Gunn and his creative partner were out at DC. The prevailing belief in the industry is that Skydance relieved Gunn of his duties.

He’s now a free agent and also someone who has already stated an interest in returning to the creative side. After trying his hand at being a C-suite executive, Gunn’s ready to be a storyteller again.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy 4’ Is Back on the Menu!

In a perfect world, Disney wouldn’t have waited six years for GotG 3. The delay occurred due to a bad combination of Gunn’s social media history and the pandemic.

We’re now in a weird spot where history could repeat itself at Marvel. With Gunn suddenly a free agent, a reconciliation and reunion seems obvious.

Both parties will likely deny this possibility at first, as that’s how the process works. The reality is that Gunn has failed to achieve similar success beyond Guardians of the Galaxy.

He’s also clearly meant to tell comic book stories, as that’s his wheelhouse. Importantly, Gunn seems to know this, as demonstrated by the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

He introduced an entirely new team composition in the film’s concluding moments. Now, he is finally free to tell that story, which he wasn’t at the time in 2023.

Gunn had already taken the reins at DC by then. Now, he’s unemployed. To a larger point, he’s also one of a small handful of people who can relate to Kevin Feige.

Running a comic book movie studio is a rare opportunity. Gunn just did it for four years. He has also performed every bit as well with comic book television as Marvel has.

Lanterns was a huge hit, bigger than anything Marvel has had since Loki. So, Gunn could provide an outsider’s perspective on what Marvel has done wrong.

Simply stated, a reunion is inevitable, and that’s wonderful news for Marvel fans. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 is back on the menu! Make it happen, Feige!

If you greenlight it now and filming starts in 2027, it could have the same gap as from GotG2 to GotG3!

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