James Gunn addresses the Guardians of the Galaxy the future of the cast after their departure from the MCU. After completing the acclaimed MCU Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and special presentation, James Gunn began to focus all his attention on the DCU. As CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn is overseeing the entire first chapter of the DCU, “Gods and Monsters,” in addition to directing Superman and writing other projects, such as Creature Commands and Peacemaker season 2.
Speaking with Josh Horowitz on an episode of Happy Sad Confused, James Gunn explains how much influence he has over the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy, admitting he's not sure if he's still legally attached to the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy property every time Marvel Studios uses one of the characters, but stating that he is “totally fine” with whatever Marvel decides for each of the Guardians. When asked if he becomes a producer whenever Marvel Studios uses Guardians, Gunn says:
“I don't know the exact legal answer to that. I think the answer is yes. I'm not sure what the answer is, but listen, I'm excited for them to do whatever they want with the Guardians. I would love for them to take these characters and see more stories with them. Chris (Pratt) has my blessing. Everyone, they all have my blessing. Chris is like, 'Is everything okay?', 'Is everything okay?', and I'm like, 'Dude, whatever, like, I'm totally fine with whatever you do… you're going to do it.' I mean, he's one of my closest friends. I would love to see him be Star-Lord again.”
Marvel is free to use the Guardians of the Galaxy in several different projects
James Gunn is undeniably the main creative mind behind the MCU's version of the Guardians of the Galaxy, as he designed their looks and personalities for their trilogy and guest appearance. After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the Guardians will always have James Gunn's signature printed on them, but Gunn will not dictate his characters' arcs. Some of them will certainly appear sooner or later, while others will probably not return for a long time, if ever.
As Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3The final and post-credits scenes suggest that Rocket Raccoon will be the leader of the new Guardians team, which is made up of Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Phyla-Vell, Adam Warlock and Adam's pet Blurp. Meanwhile, the second variant of Drax, Mantis, and Gamora will continue their own stories on their own, and Peter Quill, a.k.a. “The Legendary Star-Lord” will likely star in his own MCU project, this time set on Earth.
James Gunn didn't always have full control of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the DCU
While the Guardians of the Galaxy were James Gunn's favorite during his time at Marvel, they have also been handled by other directors more than once. The Russo Bros. made significant creative decisions regarding the Guardians in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. When James Gunn wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies, he didn't know that Thanos would end up killing Gamora, for example, or that Drax wouldn't play a major role in Thanos' defeat. Likewise, future MCU directors will continue to play around with the Guardians without being required to ask James Gunn for permission.
Source: Happy Sad Confused