James Gunn was never including Thor in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and he would have handled the Avengers: Endgame ending in a disappointing manner.
James Gunn’s original Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 plan completely ignored Thor and Avengers: Endgame. The Guardians of the Galaxy crossed over with other Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes in the two Avengers movies: Infinity War and Endgame. The latter ended with the Guardians going back to space in search of a new adventure, and Gamora, but they had a very special guest — Thor. With the Asgardian god joining the team, it seemed he would be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but that was not what Gunn had in mind.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn reconfirmed what he had said in the past about Thor never being part of his Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and also revealed the way he would have handled the team’s Avengers: Endgame ending. According to Gunn, he would have simply pretended Thor had never joined the team, with Gunn saying “I was just gonna start up and there’s no Thor.” Thankfully, the plot line got some closure with Thor: Love and Thunder showing the Guardians and Thor parting ways before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Check out Gunn’s quote below:
They chose to have that ending in editing. 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 f–k 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.
Thor Being Absent From Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Is For The Best
While seeing Chris Hemsworth’s Thor continue his hilarious dynamic with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord and the rest of the team in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would have been great, it makes the most sense that the final chapter for this iteration of the Guardians focuses only on the team. Thor’s presence in the movie, however small, would have taken some of the focus away from the franchise’s main characters, as Hemsworth is one of the last original members of the Avengers still in the MCU, and thus a fan-favorite.
Thor: Love and Thunder did a good job of sending the Odinson and the Guardians on their separate ways, with Star-Lord having an eye-opening conversation with Thor as a parting gift. With Thor out of the way, the focus can now be solely in how the story of the team wraps up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Some of the Guardians might end their tenure in the MCU with the movie, with at least Drax having been confirmed by star Dave Bautista to bow out with the film.
One way that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 could end the MCU story of one of its members is through death, as both its predecessors did, with the original Groot in the first movie, and Yondu in the second. A prime candidate has emerged to be the movie’s emotional death, and that role appears to belong to Rocket Raccoon. The trilogy finale heavily focuses on Rocket, with the hero having a personal bone to pick with villain High Evolutionary. Rocket sacrificing himself to save the team would give Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 a resonating ending that focuses on the team, not shoehorning in Thor for continuity’s sake.
Source: Rolling Stone
