Marvel Should Replace Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 With Doctor Strange 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is unlikely to make its expected May 2020 release date, a gap that should now be filled by Doctor Strange 2. Guardians 3 has been put on indefinite hold, thanks to the controversy surrounding director James Gunn’s firing, making its future unclear.

In Hollywood, release dates are fought over routinely by major movie studios years in advance. Famously, Captain America: Civil War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were at one point intended to both open on May 6, 2016 before Warner Bros blinked and moved BvS up to March, taking advantage of less competition, and not risking any loss of face – or more importantly, money – to Marvel. If Guardians of the Galaxy 3 finds itself moving backward – which, according to reports, it already is – Marvel could be looking to fill the empty slot before another studio jumps into it.

Related: What Marvel Film Can Take Guardians of the Galaxy’s Release Slot?

Currently, the three unnamed movies Marvel have set for release in 2020 are due to be released on May 1, July 31 and November 6 respectively. Guardians 3 was widely accepted to be set for the major May slot, being the next film in development and a franchise able to shoulder one of the biggest weekends of the release calendar (indeed, its predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, had that slot in 2017). This makes replacing it a tricky prospect as not only does a film need to get into production soon (cameras were going to roll on Guardians 3 in early 2019), but it has to be a name big enough to stand where the Avengers will have the past two years.

Fortunately, Marvel has managed to build up just such a character: Doctor Strange. The studio has already been vocal about their definite intentions to make a sequel, and star Benedict Cumberbatch still has appearances left on his contract. While it’s not officially green-lit, there’s more than enough time for Marvel to fast-track its development, and capitalize on the character’s improved popularity from Avengers: Infinity War.

• This Page: Why Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Will Miss 2020
• Page 2: Why Doctor Strange Is The Best Fit To Replace Guardians

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Simply Can’t Make 2020

At first, it was possible Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would find its feet. It was suggested Disney still planned to use James Gunn’s finished script – said to be the “end” of this iteration of the team – and so it was a case of finding a director. However, pre-production soon stalled, with crew released from the project. This means a lot of momentum is now lost and 2020 is increasingly unlikely.

James Gunn having made such a distinct auteur’s stamp on the first two movies, the search for a replacement director won’t be rushed either, as the studio will want to definitively make the right choice in living up to his work. Their search for a replacement director for Edgar Wright on Ant-Man only took a few weeks before Peyton Reed was hired, which made clear this is a very different situation before the on-hold report came.

Related: Who Should Replace James Gunn As Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Director?

Any incoming director will most likely want to make changes to the existing script to put more of their own stamp on the finished product. Of course, rewrites could mean complete changes in location setting and scouting, further delaying production. Like a domino effect, this would, in turn, push back post-production; the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has always been heavy on post-production VFX, and such things should never be rushed or shaken up.

There’s also the potential issue of Dave Bautista taking great personal issue with Gunn’s firing, even threatening to quit the upcoming threequel. Whilst his ability to break free of his contract is up in the air, if he were to leave the film, the script would require a head-to-toe rewrite to excise his character in some way – if not, a search would have to be conducted to recast the character, something Marvel hasn’t been shy about doing in the past.

At this point, the deck is stacked against Disney, if they want to make any release date for 2020. As it stands, it’s unlikely they’d make it.

Page 2 of 2: Why Doctor Strange Is The Best Fit To Replace Guardians

Doctor Strange Was Improved Massively By Avengers: Infinity War

Doctor Strange’s popularity seems to have risen astronomically following the release of Avengers: Infinity War. Directors the Russo brothers paired him off with obvious counterpart Tony Stark while also exploring so many of Strange’s unique, spectacular magical abilities, solidify him as one of the most likable and powerful heroes in the MCU.

Related: Avengers: Infinity War’s Most Improved Characters

Doctor Strange debuted in 2016 to positive response and a fair $678 million worldwide take. Yet regardless of its pitch-perfect lead performance by Benedict Cumberbatch, or its delightful acid-trip visuals, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Marvel fan who would rank it as a top MCU entry. The film’s rote origin story structure and one-dimensional villain in Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius prevented it from being anything more than a solid entry into the canon.

With Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange was able to present himself as an established Master of the Mystic Arts – something we got a tease of with his short appearance in Thor: Ragnarok – and more confident and competent in his abilities. The authority he exudes when debating with Stark what to do about the Time Stone is exactly the kind of Sorcerer Supreme fans deserve to see on the big screen; as if the origin story in his debut film was something Marvel simply needed to get out of the way.

His powers were used for a strong narrative purpose too; after witnessing 14,000,605 potential outcomes to the combined heroes’ fight against Thanos and seeing that only one outcome sees their eventual victory (itself an awesome concept), Strange goes on to simply hand the Time Stone over to Thanos. The running theory is that sacrificing the stone and allowing Thanos to snap his fingers on Earth is part of a larger plan on Doctor Strange’s part that will eventually see Thanos defeated. In an ensemble movie, Stephen Strange somehow became one of the most important figures in all the Marvel Cinematic Universe – one who many want more of after he’s brought back to life in Avengers 4.

Doctor Strange 2 Is In Stronger Shape Than Most Upcoming MCU Movies

Even though Doctor Strange 2 isn’t green-lit (at least not publicly), a sequel is clearly on the mind of those involved. Director Scott Derrickson has long been open about his ideas for a follow-up, while co-screenwriter Robert C. Cargill has confirmed that both Nightmare and a returning Mordo (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, teased as an antagonist in Doctor Strange‘s post-credits scene) would serve as the main antagonists. To add to the clear interest and concepts, it’s looking like Derrickson is actually teasing a sequel development soon, with a recent enigmatic Instagram post centering on the Sorcerer Supreme mythos.

Related: Doctor Strange’s Post-Credits Scene Explained

Whether or not Marvel has these plans in stone, it’s clear that a lot of thought has already been put into Doctor Strange 2, including contract renegotiations for Benedict Cumberbatch. If the movie is in this state, it’s in a stronger position than pretty much every Phase 4 MCU film audiences are aware of – including in-development projects like Black Widow and The Eternals, and most certainly the director-less Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

–

Considering how many strong elements are already in play for Doctor Strange 2, Marvel should right now be assessing how much extra time they need to give to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and make an informed decision about which one should really be focused on right now.

Next: Doctor Strange 2: Every Update You Need To Know