WIRE Buzz: James Gunn teases Guardians 3 yet again; Marvel announces Empyre; and more

Answering fan questions on Instagram, James Gunn took the time to tease his third Guardians of the Galaxy film yet again. 

"I probably liked writing Nebula and Rocket's arcs most (still continuing into Vol. 3)," wrote the writer/director when asked what character arcs were his favorite to write. "But I also think we have great things coming up for the others, like Quill and Mantis. All of their arcs take place over the three films as opposed to in only the individual movies."

It will be interesting to see how Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) moves on from the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Credit: Instagram

Currently, there is no set release date for Vol. 3, whose schedule was thrown all out of whack when Gunn was fired (and later re-hired) by Disney. He'll begin production on the trilogy capper once he finishes The Suicide Squad (out August 6, 2021) for Warner Bros.

"The Suicide Squad will have, by far, the most and the biggest practical effects of any movie I've ever worked on," the filmmaker wrote in reference to another question.

With the super-sized Incoming now available to the public, we know what major crossover event will rock the Marvel Universe in 2020: Empyre. Written by Dan Slott (Spider-Man) and Al Ewing (The Immortal Hulk), the comic book arc was announced by Marvel this week and promises to pit the Avengers and Fantastic Four against the Kree and the Skrulls.

"Empyre is Marvel's most earth-shattering event of 2020," Editor-In-Chief C.B. Cebulski said in a statement. "One of the most incredible science fiction sagas Marvel has ever put to page."

"Empyre grows out of a number of classic, key Marvel stories, including the 'Kree-Skrull War,' the 'Celestial Madonna Saga,' the origin of the Young Avengers, and a bunch of others. It is the touchpoint for so many things that have been established throughout Marvel history," added Executive Editor Tom Brevoort. "The story a true interstellar epic."

Empyre kicks off in April 2020.

Messiah on Netflix doesn't premiere until tomorrow, but the review embargo has been lifted.

Unfortunately, critics aren't lining up to convert.

"Set aside any suggestion implied by trailers for Netflix's Messiah that it is primarily an international thriller or a grand mystery on a global scale. It isn't the least bit thrilling nor, for all of its big questions, all that mysterious," writes Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter.

Created by Michael Petroni (writer of The Rite and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), the globe-trotting series stars Michelle Monaghan (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) as a CIA agent trying to determine whether a mysterious man named Al-Massih (London Has Fallen's Mehdi Dehbi) is truly a divine miracle worker or just a fraud looking to trick the masses.

Daniel D'Addario of Variety adds:

"Making a TV show whose plot hinges on miracles is a challenging thing. Perceived miracles are startling in our world because of their divergence from universally accepted reality; events diverging, instead, from a reality a writer is creating are less mind-blowing. It takes a carefully balanced, well-constructed world in order to make viewers take the extraordinary on faith. Messiah lacks that."

Den of Geek's Lucy Baugher had kinder words for the show, saying:

"Messiah isn’t the show we probably all thought it was going to be. And that’s a good thing, in the end. If there’s ever been a time where we all need to feel, just for a moment, that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, or get a reminder that we’re all connected, in spite of the things that divide us, it’s now. The messenger that delivers it may be kind of messy in places, but it’s worthwhile, all the same."