Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and Suicide Squad won't be delayed over coronavirus says James Gunn

'The Suicide Squad' is still slated for release in August 2021

James Gunn has insisted that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and The Suicide Squad will not be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The filmmaker is returning to work on the superhero sequels after being fired and reinstated by Disney, but fans were worried that the projects might go the way of James Bond’s No Time to Die or Disney’s Mulan and be delayed until the world health crisis had subsided.

However, taking to Twitter for a Q&A session, Gunn revealed to fans that while quarantine had meant the release of trailers and promotional images would be a little slower, editing was currently underway for the Suicide Squad sequel and the film was still looking at an August 2021 release.

“Right now there’s no reason for #TheSuicideSquad release date to move. We are on or ahead of schedule. We were extremely fortunate to wrap shooting & set up editing from our homes (due to a post production team & studio with foresight) before quarantine,” he wrote.

Asked if the same could be said for the third instalment to Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn replied: “Right now the plans with Vol 3 are also exactly the same as they were before coronavirus.”

The spread of the virus and enforcement of lockdown measures globally has seen the film industry both halt production and delay release on a number of large projects.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Widow was pushed back from May 2020 to November, subsequently delaying releases including Black Panther 2, The Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Gunn was brought on to direct The Suicide Squad after being fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by Marvel bosses when old tweets of his joking about paedophilia and rape emerged.

After his dismissal, Gunn's co-workers had written a public letter asking for him to be reinstated.