Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s Delay Helped The MCU In 1 Major Way

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's delay actually helped the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one major way. Marvel Studios' plans for Phase 4 have undergone several changes over the years, as COVID-19 forced their hand to delay multiple movies. Even before the pandemic hit, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 received a surprising update when Disney fired James Gunn in 2018 over old tweets. While he was later rehired, the delay still meant a major shakeup for Marvel's plans, as Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was originally meant to be the first film of Phase 4.

One of the impacts of the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 delay was the cosmic team of Marvel characters landing a role in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Guardians' return came after Avengers: Endgame's ending signaled they had a future with Thor. Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder was last seen leaving Earth with the Guardians as Star-Lord began searching for Gamora. This originally left audiences to believe that Thor and the Guardians would be paired together in their next MCU appearance. However, James Gunn has since confirmed that he never planned to include Thor in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Related: Where The Guardians Of The Galaxy Go In Thor: Love And Thunder

Thanks to this revelation, it now becomes clear that Guardians of the Galaxy 3's delay helped the MCU in regards to paying off Avengers: Endgame's tease of more Thor and Guardians adventures. The implication that the fan-favorite pairing from Avengers: Infinity War would be seen together again after Thanos' defeat got audiences very excited. If James Gunn was not fired and Guardians of the Galaxy 3's delay never happened, it is possible they would not interact again. It is only because Thor: Love and Thunder moved up in the