Director James Gunn has shed some light on why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn't coming until 2023. He said on Twitter that, simply put, he is immensely busy right now.

　　Gunn is spending a lot of his time on projects on the more immediate horizon, such as this August's The Suicide Squad, but the director isn't sitting by idly when it comes to the next Guardians of the Galaxy film. He said he wrote more than 500 pages of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 script in 2020.

　　Between now and when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is released, Gunn will release The Suicide Squad in 2021 and then the John Cena Peacemaker TV series in 2022. He's also writing the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and he's working on the Guardians of the Galaxy ride for Disney World. So as you can see, he is extremely busy.

　　Between now & then we have The Suicide Squad, the Peacemaker TV series, the Guardians Holiday Special & the Guardians ride at Disneyland all coming out. Last year I wrote over 500 pages of script that’ll all be shot over the next year. I’m busy! (But thanks for being excited.) https://t.co/igqzB5ONLc

　　— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 4, 2021

　　Yes Disney World. Sorry, force of habit.

　　— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 4, 2021

　　Marvel Studios just announced the release dates for its next 10 movies, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the last of the bunch, getting a May 5, 2023 release date.

　　Here is a rundown of the next projects from Gunn specifically:

　　The Suicide Squad (writer-director) -- August 6 in theaters and on HBO MaxPeacemaker TV show (writer-director)-- 2022Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (writer-director) -- Holiday 2022Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Rollercoaster at Disney World (filming scenes for it) -- TBA

　　So as you can see, Gunn is a very busy man and he is really going to earn that nap.