James Gunn might alter MCU canon for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

James Gunn may have to retcon a minor detail for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

With fifteen films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios has produced a carefully crafted timeline of events. As a result, many of their directors make it a priority to keep in line with its canon. James Gunn is no different, but he currently finds himself with an interesting dilemma.

Gunn recently spoke at a World Building panel at E3, where he revealed that he has already completed the first script treatment for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, he also revealed that he is facing a bit of a continuity problem:

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"I’m writing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and I finished the first draft of the treatment yesterday. I’m excited about it. I feel really great about it. But, there’s one little thing that I had in the first movie."

The director emphasized that the MCU now has its own distinct canon and explained that he is wrestling with the decision to retcon a small plot point from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014):

"Now, Marvel Canon—MCU—is crazy. There’s the 616 universe which is the Marvel Comics Universe, which people get hung up on that canon, and then there’s the MCU, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has a separate canon (inspired by but not exactly the same as the 616). I did something in the first movie of Guardians where it was in the background but it was distinctly there, and people know that it’s there. And I’m like goddammit. Because I have a really good storytelling reason for breaking the canon, and I stayed up last night figuring out if I’m gonna do it or not. I still don’t know."

Finally, Gunn gave a few more specifics on what he wants to change:

"I’ll actually tell ya. In the first movie, there is the mugshot sequence where the characters go through and they’re going through the mugshots and having their picture taken. And the Nova Corps has information about each of the characters coming up on their machinery. Those things are something that your average viewer doesn’t see at all. But there’s a lot of background I put into those things about who they’ve worked with, where they are from, what’s going on. And it’s one of those things that I’m thinking about changing."

Next: James Gunn talks Yondu's arc in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

It sounds like a small detail. But as mentioned, the MCU’s continuity is very specific. It’s also very important to the fans. Many were quick to point out the small error that Gunn made with Stan Lee’s cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Still, if Gunn has proven anything in his career, it’s that he’s a very capable storyteller, and it’s definitely possible that he (and maybe the folks at Marvel) could find a way to write around this little obstacle.