If there's one thing that's been made abundantly clear, it's that Avengers 4 is going to fundamentally change everything for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios boss and MCU mastermind Kevin Feige calls the film "a finale", promising that "There will be two distinct periods. Everything before Avengers 4 and everything after." So what comes after? That's the million (or multi-billion) dollar question the good folks at Vanity Fair tried to dig up as a part of their fantastic in-depth profile.
As you might expect, the famously tight-lipped folks at Marvel played things pretty close to the vest, but one thing we know for sure is that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn't just the third act of James Gunn's trilogy-in-progress, it will usher out the current incarnation of the Guardians and, as one of the first post-Avengers 4 films, help usher in a new era for Marvel films.
That's fitting. You don't have to look far for someone to tell you how influential Guardians of the Galaxy was on the future of the MCU. Guardians marked a shift; a freer approach to a "more colorful, more playful, heightened reality, as Evangeline Lilly described. "Guardians of the Galaxy opened up a whole new door in the Marvel universe," said Mark Ruffalo, who recently starred in the distinctly playful Thor: Ragnarok. "We don’t have to force a tone from movie to movie. We don’t have to force a look from movie to movie. All we have to do is carry those characters with some semblance of the last story."
Suffice it to say, Gunn's contributions to the MCU have helped point the way for the future, but does that mean we'll see him follow Joss Whedon's post-Avengers footsteps into a larger mentorship role across the MCU? Not necessarily, but Gunn says they've discussed it and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to help set the tone for what comes next after the game-changing events of Avengers 4.
"They’ve talked to me about that. They’re interested in that. But I haven’t decided what my role is going to be after Guardians 3. Avengers 3 and 4 are the end of an era of Marvel. This is the end of a long-form story that’s been told for the last 10 years. And Guardians Vol. 3 is a big part of the beginning of what comes after that while simultaneously being the end of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Something Kevin has been really open to talking to me about is helping them decide where that goes."
But as Feige made clear when he was asked about Gunn's future, The MCU is in a much different place than it was in the Avengers era.
"Anna [Boden] and Ryan [Fleck] are working on Captain Marvel and talking to Taika [Waititi], who’s just finished Ragnarok, talking with Ryan Coogler, who’s in the midst of post-production on Panther. So there is that back and forth, which I like. Peyton [Reed] going over and seeing Joe and Anthony [Russo] because they’re on the same lot at Pinewood. With Joss it was more unique. It was more of a sort of a contractual thing as part of his deal on Avengers 2 that he would help us oversee it. There’s not that with James. But what there is with James is that camaraderie and the notion that a lot of what’s been done in Guardians and a lot of the great characters that we’ve done in Guardians could have potential as their own things. Working with James to figure out where those could go and how that could work has certainly been part of our discussions."
Of course, before we get to see the new vision for the MCU and find out who'll be taking what leadership roles, we've got two Avengers movies, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Black Panther. Check back tomorrow to watch the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer and for more on Avengers: Infinity War, check out our recent coverage in the links below: