It’s strange to think that there was a time when we didn’t know if we’ll see James Gunn direct the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. The director was a major part of the studio’s future before a controversy derailed everyone’s plans. Luckily by 2019, Gunn found his way back but was also quite busy directing his DC film, The Suicide Squad.
So, many of his initial plans have gone through quite a few new directions as Avengers: Endgame was on the horizon and the film ended with Thor joining the Guardians. One thing Gunn knew was that he didn’t want to include the character in his story, but in an interview with the Rolling Stones, he reveals how Taika Waititi saved the vision of his film.
And I didn’t think it was gonna be in there. Endgame came out right after I decided to do Guardians again. So I didn’t have much say in what was in Endgame, and then it came out and then I was like, ‘What the fuck am I gonna do?’ That’s when [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] told me Taika’s gonna do Thor, and we’ll have the Guardians in it. I said, ‘Thank God!’… To be completely honest, Thor was never going to be in this movie. Taika took a bullet for me. Because I was not going to have him in. I was just gonna start up and there’s no Thor.
James Gunn
So, without Thor: Love and Thunder, we might not have the true original vision of Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He had a shot to explore the Guardians a bit (ironic given he was the Internet’s top choice to continue the franchise if Gunn never managed to return) and set them off on their adventure once Thor realized his true mission was to uncover what
Source: Rolling Stones
