James Gunn’s DC exit has Marvel fans asking one question: is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 next?

Not every day you see fandoms suddenly perk up at a studio reshuffle, but here we are. With James Gunn stepping away as co-CEO of DC Studios, the internet's already convinced this spells new life for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4. Existing only as wishful thinking for now, that fourth film isn’t confirmed in any official capacity—but that's hardly stopped fans from firing up the rumour mill with some real enthusiasm.

Speculation over a new Guardians outing reignited almost immediately after Gunn's DC exit.

Why everyone's talking

Let’s untangle the timeline. Gunn, until recently, was running DC Studios with Peter Safran. Now he's out—his stint as DC's unlikely boss over. Rather than speculation swirling about what might come next in the DC Universe, what's happened is Marvel fans resurfacing, asking if Gunn might fettle those iconic cosmic misfits again. Across social media, posts are cropping up, varying from the tongue-in-cheek to the distinctly impatient, all basically demanding that Guardians Vol. 4 becomes a reality now that Gunn's (presumably) got a clear calendar.

• 'Good. We can get the ball rolling on Guardians of the Galaxy 4.' – one fairly blunt X user.
• 'Oh cool. Now we don’t have to wait a decade for Guardians 4.' – another, perhaps with a memory of superhero development cycles.
• 'This is a really sad moment… It's time for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4.' – the self-styled comic timing from a third.
• And—inevitably—'So… how long until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 is announced?' – waiting for Marvel to say something, anything.

No actual confirmation from Gunn himself—at least not yet. Both the director and Marvel are remaining firmly tight-lipped about whether a fourth film's being talked about, let alone greenlit. So, for now, the idea’s all speculation. But it’s a very online sort of speculation, with a persistent undercurrent of hope.

Gunn's history with the Guardians

Bit of recent history for anyone coming in late: James Gunn wrote and directed the original Guardians of the Galaxy—yes, the 2014 one that turned Star-Lord, Rocket and company from comic book obscurities into household names. Audiences loved it, critics loved it, and Marvel quickly had Gunn back for Vol. 2 in 2017. He was also the main creative force behind Vol. 3, though that one nearly didn’t happen with him at the helm.

Back in 2018, Disney gave Gunn the sack after his ancient and ill-advised tweets resurfaced, pushed into the limelight by conservative commentators. Most of the Guardians cast and creative team were dead set against the studio’s decision, loudly advocating for Gunn’s return. And, about a year later, Disney relented—brought him back for Vol. 3, before he eventually took up shop at DC Studios and Marvel lost him (at least temporarily) to the other side.

As for the present: Gunn’s confirmed his DC exit with a fairly heartfelt note on Threads, dropping hints about future projects without making any commitments. But any new Guardians film, despite all the fan noise, remains purely hypothetical at this stage.