Excitement has reached fever pitch amongst many film fans as the eagerly anticipated Marvel sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now just under two weeks away and the stars, including Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, have begun their huge promotional tour across the globe (they had to the UK next week!). But if you needed any more excuses to go see the follow-up, director James Gunn has given you one more.
The writer/director of the first two films, as well as films like Slither and Super, has announced on his Facebook page that he is to return once again to write and direct Vol.3. and thought that sharing it with the fans before the press junkets begin was the best way to share the news.
Related: Win Tickets to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Premiere
Here’s his full statement:
“Well, this week we start the U.S. press junket, before traveling to Europe at the end of the week. Of course I know some of the questions that come up a lot – “Wasn’t there a lot more pressure dealing with the sequel of a beloved film?” (No, there was less, because this time I knew there was an audience waiting to see it!) and, “What was it like working with Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone?” (Daunting and at times overwhelming – I ran around in my backyard as a kid pretending to be Snake Plissken and John Rambo, so these guys are true icons to me.)
But the question that comes up perhaps the most is, “What’s the deal with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and are you going to direct?”
Before I was able to honestly answer this, I needed to know it was, in my heart, what I truly felt called to do. There is a history in Hollywood of haphazard endings to trilogies, and I didn’t want to become a part of that dishonorable tradition of pretending the third one doesn’t exist. I couldn’t do it for the money, and I couldn’t do it because it was what other people wanted me to do. I needed to do it because it was what I needed to do. I have never made choices in my career based on anything other than passion and love for the stories and characters, and I didn’t want to start now.
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.”
Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillian, Elizabeth Debicki, Pom Klementieff, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper star in the sequel which opens in UK cinemas on April 28th.
