Disney's surprise decision to rehire fired "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn was welcomed by fans, but raised questions about how the third film in that franchise would fit into Gunn's busy schedule, since he had already been poached by DC to shoot the "Suicide Squad" follow-up. Now, it looks like Gunn will be rolling cameras on "Guardians 3" much sooner than anticipated.

In a new piece from The Hollywood Reporter (which contains SPOILERS, so click the link at your own risk) examining the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a post-"Avengers: Endgame" world, the trade discussed the new slate of projects on Marvel's docket. Among them is "Guardians 3," which according to THR, will start filming sometime in 2020.

Considering that Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" will start filming later this year, and likely not wrap post-production until 2020, that will certainly complicate the filmmaker's schedule. As Collider notes (in a post that also contains "Endgame" SPOILERS, FYI), Gunn could theoretically get a jump on "Guardians" pre-production while finishing up principal on "Suicide Squad," then shift into full "Guardians" production while "Suicide" is in post. It will be crazy busy, but doable, according to the site.

Of course, Disney has not announced yet exactly when it hopes to get "Guardians 3" into theaters (the film had been delayed indefinitely from its previous 2020 release date while the studio searched for a replacement for Gunn). It's possible that a 2020 start date will become too ambitious if there are any delays with Gunn's DC project, and will be pushed. Only time will tell.

Whenever the film gets going, we'll just be happy to have Gunn behind the lens again. Stay tuned.

[via: The Hollywood Reporter, h/t Collider]