Chris Pratt Makes His Feelings Clear on a James Gunn Marvel Return After DC Studios Exit

Few filmmakers are as closely tied to a superhero team as James Gunn is to the Guardians. Pratt and Gunn first worked together on the original ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ film back in 2012, and Gunn went on to direct two more installments before becoming co-CEO of DC Studios. That shared history is a big reason fans pay attention whenever the two of them talk about each other.

When ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ arrived, it was framed as a goodbye. The film bid farewell to this version of the team and to Gunn, and it earned $114 million in North America and $282 million worldwide in its opening weekend. It was Gunn’s last Marvel movie as he turned his attention to running DC Studios.

Now the landscape has shifted again. Gunn and Safran are stepping down as co-CEOs of DC Studios after four years, with the change taking effect on Dec. 1, 2026, and former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham taking over as president and chief creative officer. The move has set off a wave of reactions across Hollywood, and Pratt has now weighed in.

According to a post from Marvel Updates, Pratt said it would be “awesome” if Gunn returned to make ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4’ in the wake of the DC Studios shakeup. In the quote shared in that post, the actor said he hasn’t had the chance to speak with Gunn since the news broke. “All I’ll say is I love James… So if he wanted to come back and bring it back, I would love that,” Pratt said.

The remarks trace back to a Swedish outlet. Pratt told MovieZine he would happily make a fourth ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ film if Gunn were interested, now that Gunn is leaving his CEO role at DC Studios. The conversation took place around the Apple TV premiere of ‘Way of the Warrior Kid’ on Nov. 25.

That interview is not the only time Pratt has addressed the situation. In a separate interview with ComicBook, he said he had actually spoken with Gunn the day before and suggested that Gunn, at heart a writer and director, probably didn’t love some of the executive duties that came with the job. The two interviews appear to give slightly different pictures of when the pair last connected, which is worth keeping in mind as the quotes circulate online.

Pratt also touched on the possibility of him joining the DC Universe. He said he had looked through DC material while Gunn was in charge and that they had a few conversations about it, but nothing concrete came of them. He added that any future project with Gunn would be about their relationship and the characters they bring, and that material for it could be found anywhere.

Gunn isn’t disappearing from DC entirely either. He and Safran will keep their creative roles, with post-production underway on 2027’s ‘Man of Tomorrow’ and HBO Max’s ‘The People V. Gorilla Grodd,’ while Gunn is also writing a mystery DC project. That makes a quick pivot back to Marvel look far from guaranteed.

Pratt’s enthusiasm for working with Gunn is nothing new, but it was previously tempered. Around the release of ‘Vol. 3,’ he admitted that making more Guardians movies without Gunn “would be strange.” His latest comments suggest the door he wants open leads back to Gunn rather than to the franchise alone.

For now, this is Pratt voicing a wish rather than confirming a plan. Reporting around the release of ‘Vol. 3’ noted that the Guardians trilogy was officially finished and that no concrete plans for a fourth film were known. The reporting I found since then doesn’t point to a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4’ being in the works.

Whether Gunn ever returns to Marvel is anyone’s guess, especially with Latcham, a Marvel veteran and longtime collaborator of Gunn and Safran, about to take over at DC. For fans hoping to see Star-Lord and his creator reunite, Pratt’s message is clear: he’s ready when Gunn is.