Filmmaker James Gunn says the script for the third instalment of Guardians of the Galaxy movie is already in the works.
After the release of the first two Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Gunn has been busy working on the next instalment and has been in touch with Marvel boss Kevin Feige about the future of the characters.
Gunn, who helmed the first two movies, said: "Those scripts are already in the works. Kevin and I talk about it all the time; we just had a meeting today. Discussing what is the next iteration of cosmic characters and where are the characters that we've already created going to go in the next batch of films."
Avengers 4 marks the end of Phase 4 of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe and will see many actors leave the successful franchise.
At the end of the second "Guardians…" movie, the post-credit sequence introduced a new team including Starhawk (Sylvester Stallone), Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Krugarr and Mainframe (voiced by Miley Cyrus).
Gunn says he would like to develop these characters even more.
"I'm definitely interested in the direction that these characters are headed and their roles in the Marvel Universe. These are older characters and more criminal than our Guardians. So we're focusing on that," he said.
The Guardians of the Galaxy series star Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Groot.
The Guardians will be joining the rest of the Avengers in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 as they go head-to-head against intergalactic supervillain Thanos.