GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 4? Franchise Stars Share Their Thoughts on a Possible Future Without James Gunn

The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy wrapped up in a big emotional way with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, closing out the story that James Gunn started back in 2014. But, in the Marvel universe, nothing stays quiet forever.

With the cosmic side of the MCU continuing to expand, fans have been wondering if Marvel Studios could eventually move forward with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 without Gunn calling the shots.

Some familiar faces from the franchise recently shared their thoughts on that possibility during a panel appearance at Emerald City Comic-Con, and their answers paint an interesting picture of where things might go next.

Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, and Pom Klementieff were all on hand for the convention, where the topic of a fourth Guardians movie naturally came up. While the actors clearly have love for the series, none of them sounded certain that another installment is on the immediate horizon.

Klementieff, who played Mantis across several MCU projects, explained that the creative plan had always been fairly clear.

"I don't know. We never talked about a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4. It was always imagined as a trilogy."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gave several characters meaningful send-offs while shifting others toward new paths.

Sean Gunn, who portrayed Kraglin and also performed the motion capture for Rocket Raccoon on set, suggested that if Marvel ever does revisit the team, the creative team behind it will be the deciding factor.

"In some ways, it's almost like a little above my pay grade. It's like, if they decide to do it, if they decide that they can put the pieces together and get the right cast, and get a script that they really like and that works, then it would depend on who wrote that script and who was putting it together.

“And by that point, there would probably already be somebody who was part of it, so I don't know."

He’s clearly unsure of whether he'd continue playing Kraglin, and the on-set Rocket, without his brother calling the shots.

The question is especially interesting now that James Gunn is fully committed to building the new DC Universe following his work directing Superman.

The fact he’s now running DC Studios makes a return to Marvel Studios very unlikely in the foreseeable future, which means any continuation of the Guardians story would likely come from a completely new filmmaker.

As for Yondu actor Michael Rooker, the character may be gone after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but the actor still looks back fondly on his time in the cosmic corner of the MCU. He also seems pretty satisfied with how the story wrapped up.

"The third one was incredible, but also heartbreaking because we knew it would be the last one, so it's really special that way. The Christmas special was so fun to shoot, so I just loved it so much.

"Thank goodness it didn't go on further. It would become like The Walking Dead. Please, enough already."

Even if a full Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 never happens, that doesn’t necessarily mean the characters are finished. Klementieff pointed out that the team could still show up elsewhere in the MCU.

She suggested the heroes "could still appear in another movie as well," pointing toward the possibility of "maybe like a big universe-bending crossover."

That idea actually lines up with where the MCU appears to be heading. Rumors continue to come up about characters like Nova and Annihilus entering the franchise during the next cosmic-focused saga.

If the infamous Annihilation Wave becomes part of the story, it’s easy to imagine the Guardians stepping back into action alongside other cosmic heroes.

The end of Vol. 3 even teased that “The Legendary Star-Lord will return,” leaving the door open for Chris Pratt to show up again somewhere in the MCU. When that happens remains a mystery.

For now, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 remains a big question mark. The trilogy delivered a complete story, but Marvel has a long history of revisiting fan-favorite characters when the right opportunity comes along.

If the studio ever decides to assemble the team again, the biggest challenge will be finding someone capable of carrying forward the weird, heartfelt, music-fueled energy that James Gunn built into the franchise.

And that’s no small task.

Would you want to see Marvel Studios make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4, or should the trilogy remain untouched?