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The day after Gunn joined The Suicide Squad in mid-October 2018, he was privately notified by Horn that he could return as director for Vol. 3. This came after further meetings between the studios and Gunn. Horn had changed his mind after being impressed by Gunn's response to the situation. Gunn discussed his commitments to The Suicide Squad with Feige, and production on Vol. 3 was put on hold until February 2021 to allow Gunn to complete The Suicide Squad first. In December, after working with Marvel Studios on the script for Ant-Man (2015), Adam McKay said he was willing to work with the studio again and stated that he had discussed taking over as director for Vol. 3 with Feige, among other projects. In early 2019, Feige and Pratt reiterated that Marvel would still make Vol. 3, and in March 2019, Gunn was publicly revealed to have been rehired as director of the film. Deadline Hollywood stated that Marvel Studios had "never met with or considered any other director" for the film. By the end of April, the franchise's five main stars—Pratt, Saldaña, Bautista, Cooper, and Diesel—were all expected to return for the sequel, with filming to take place in 2020.
Discussing his firing and re-hiring in May 2019, Gunn said that of all the elements of the film that he had been sad to leave when he was fired, the most meaningful to him was the character of Rocket. Gunn personally identifies with Rocket, describing himself and the character as "the same". That month, Gillan confirmed that she was returning for the sequel and expressed excitement for Gunn's return to the franchise. In June, Saldaña was asked about her role in the film after her character Gamora was killed in Infinity War, and she returned to play a younger version in Endgame who travels through time to the present. Saldaña said that Gamora's fate would depend on the plans that Marvel and Gunn have for Vol. 3, but that she would like to see Gamora rejoin the Guardians and also be portrayed as "the most lethal woman in the galaxy" as she has been referred to previously. Gunn was asked in October if he was unhappy about Marvel's decision to kill Gamora in Infinity War and said he was not, adding that he had discussed the storyline with the studio beforehand. According to Infinity War and Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, Gamora was brought back in Endgame specifically so that Gunn could include her in Vol. 3. In December, Gunn was asked if he would have Yondu return in the film and said as long as he was involved with the Guardians characters, he would not have the character be resurrected. Gunn felt the stakes of a character's death were important and said characters who die in his films would likely remain dead. Gunn said in February 2020 that bringing Yondu back to life would "nullify Yondu's sacrifice" in Vol. 2, and said the character would not return unless it was for a prequel or flashback; Gunn later said Yondu would not be resurrected in the film to not diminish his death's meaning. In April, Gunn said the COVID-19 pandemic would not affect production plans for the film at that time, saying the next month that the film would be released "a little after 2021".
In August 2020, Gunn turned in a new draft of the film's script and began writing a spin-off television series from The Suicide Squad titled Peacemaker (2022). A month later, he was planning to begin work on Vol. 3 in 2021 after completing that film and series. He confirmed in November that the script for Vol. 3 was finished, and said that very little had changed from his initial ideas despite the production setbacks. The film was given a 2023 release date a month later, with filming set to begin in late 2021. Shortly after, it was revealed to also be set after The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022).