Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Thor: Love and Thunder

From early promotional material, it seemed as though Avengers: Endgame ending seemed to heavily imply a more involved Thor and Guardians team-up.

Thanks to the events of both Thor: Ragnarok, the Thor and Guardians series are arguably the MCU's two premier space-centric franchises. As a result, many viewers assumed that it made perfect sense for the two to combine more officially in Phase 4, enhancing the team dynamic that made earlier entries so successful. Yet, with the exception of an opening training montage to help Thor get back in shape, the Guardians themselves hardly feature, with Star-Lord explicitly rejecting Thor's desire to become one of the team.

Related: Why Thor: Love & Thunder's Reviews Are So Divided

Although their absence seems strange, there are several reasons why the Guardians of the Galaxy are hardly in Thor: Love and Thunder. The first is narrative, as the events of the movie mainly revolve around Thor and other gods. Having the Guardians intrude would drastically alter this dynamic and detract from Gorr's villainous mission to eliminate the universe's deities. The second is that, after the events of Endgame, the Guardians have their own concerns as a team – specifically around locating and reuniting with Gamora. While seeing Thor work alongside the Guardians for an entire movie may be thrilling further down the line, at this point in the overall MCU narrative, there are simply too many other concerns for it to be a priority.

Is Thor: Love & Thunder Set After Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3?

Thor love and thunder Guardians of the galaxy fix fat thor

The fact that the Guardians are yet to reunite with Gamora reveals that Thor: Love and Thunder takes place before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. On the surface, and especially given their limited involvement, this might seem like a natural position in the overall MCU timeline. Yet, thanks to the complex relationship the studio has with Guardians director James Gunn, the situation is actually more complex than it seems.

As a result of James Gunn's firing and subsequent rehiring, Thor: Love and Thunder was moved up the Marvel schedule. While it's not clear to what extent this may have shaped the overall plot, this reordering certainly had an impact on the Guardians' involvement. Thanks to the new arrangement, the Guardians' appearance felt perfunctory – even unnecessary – with the plot having to forcibly engineer them out of the movie, while still leading into a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 adventure. As a result, the reasoning behind their lack of involvement in Thor: Love and Thunder is as much to do with the complex machinations of the wider MCU as it is a deliberate decision by Waititi and co.

More: All 17 Marvel TV Shows Releasing After Thor: Love & Thunder (& When)

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