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3 things we already know about 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3'
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This image released by Disney-Marvel shows Chris Pratt, left, and Dave Bautista in a scene from, "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2." (Disney-Marvel via AP) - photo by Herb Scribner
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters last Friday, but some tidbits are already known about its successor.

The Marvel superhero film, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as a ragtag bunch of superheroes looking to save the galaxy, will get a third film, as announced earlier in April, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Thats not surprising given the early earnings for Vol. 2, which is expected to bring in $250 million globally during its first weekend, according to Variety.

The film already has earned more than $100 million overseas, which is close to the $106 million it made overseas during its entire first weekend. Back home, its expected to earn somewhere between $140 and $170 million, Variety reported.

Itll have a slew of new characters this time around, too, according to the Deseret News, breathing new life into the series.

Guardians of the Galaxy writer James Gunn said the third Guardians film will complete the series, in a way, according to EW.

I think really that the three movies work together as a whole, theyre going to tell one story, he said, according to EW. This is the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and were going to get to know the characters even better in the same way we got to know them much better in this film than the first one.

Fans already have a few details about the series next installment, which have recently come to light. Heres a quick breakdown of three things known about the third Guardians film.

Itll take place after Avengers 3 & 4

The next Guardians film will take place after the third and fourth Avengers films and be released after it, too.

As EW reported, Vol. 3 will likely hit theaters in 2020. Marvel has a packed lineup of films right now, including this summers Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther will hit next winter, too.

The sequel to Homecoming comes in July 2019, EW reported.

So, unless Marvel wants to add a fourth film that year or reconfigure the theatrical schedule, that would place the next Guardians in 2020 the earliest, EW reported.

The Guardians characters will be in the Infinity War films (the third and fourth Avengers films), according to Entertainment Weekly.

The character Warlock is coming

Gunn also said in recent interviews that the Marvel character Warlock will show up in the third Guardians film, IGN reported.

Warlock becomes one of the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel universe, often teaming with the Fantastic Four and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comic books, IGN reported.

Gunn planned to introduce Warlock in the second film, but he feared it would be too crowded, so he held off, IGN reported.

If he appears anywhere in the future, itll be in Guardians, Marvel President Kevin Feige said, according to IGN.

It might not be the final Guardians film

Gunn said the third film in the series will likely be his last and the final film in the trilogy, Variety reported.

But Feige said the story could go beyond that, according to NME.com.

I think James in particular has an amazing connection with these characters and with this cosmic world, Feige said, according to NME. So he, I think, could easily oversee additional stories beyond 'Vol. 3.' And I think he has them and just continues to come up with them, which is cool.

But will it get weirder?

Just ahead of the new films release, Marvel unveiled a new version of the Guardians comics meant to appeal to comic book and movie fans alike called All-New Guardians of the Galaxy, according to EW.

Writer Gerry Duggan told EW that they plan to publish 24 issues within the year. The series hopes to attract movie fans.

The hope is that fans see the world onscreen and want more stories with these characters. They will immediately see these characters and have a grasp of who they are, Duggan told EW.

Duggan said the new comics will likely make space weird again.

Were playing around with the physics of space and different modes of transport, he told EW.

Movies surely draw off comic books for source material, so its not a stretch to say the next Guardians films will take cues from these comics.