- Director James Gunn said he didn't know Thor and the Guardians would get paired up in "Avengers: Endgame."
- Gunn was relieved that director Taika Waititi resolved that plot point in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
"Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn said that he's grateful Taika Waititi figured out a way to resolve the group's team-up with Thor, as he wasn't even aware that the characters would join forces by the conclusion of "Avengers: Endgame."
"They chose to have that ending in editing," Gunn, the director of all three of Marvel's "Guardians" films, said in a new interview with Rolling Stone, published on Monday. "And I didn't think it was gonna be in there."
In 2019's "Endgame," the titular superheroes successfully resurrected previously dusted characters and came together to defeat the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most prominent villain, Thanos (played by Josh Brolin).
Following their victory, the various characters set off on their own adventures. For Chris Hemsworth's Thor, this meant heading into space with the Guardians.
The God of Thunder was last seen on a spacecraft with Guardians members Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel).
Gunn told Rolling Stone that "Endgame" was released "right after" he decided to return for a third installment in the "Guardians" franchise. And that point, he had already submitted a draft of the script for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and Thor wasn't part of the story.
"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?'" Gunn said.
The director said that he was relieved that Waititi, who previously helmed "Thor: Ragnarok," wrapped up that plot point in the fourth standalone Thor movie, "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022).
"That's when [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige] told me Taika's gonna do 'Thor,' and we'll have the Guardians in it," Gunn recalled. "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."
Early in "Love and Thunder," Thor was shown working with the Guardians in an attempt to win another battle on another planet.
After restoring peace to the planet, Thor received a distress signal from his old friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander). Then, he parted ways with the ragtag group to pursue his mission and begin a journey of self-discovery.
It's unclear where and when Thor will show up in the MCU following the events of "Love and Thunder," but the Guardians will return in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," in theaters on Friday, May 5.