diff --git a/doc/api/next_api_changes/deprecations/18978-LPS.rst b/doc/api/next_api_changes/deprecations/18978-LPS.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..705f672d33b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/api/next_api_changes/deprecations/18978-LPS.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+pyplot.gca()
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Passing keyword arguments to ``.pyplot.gca`` will not be supported in a future
+release.
diff --git a/doc/api/next_api_changes/development/18978-LPS.rst b/doc/api/next_api_changes/development/18978-LPS.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..cd590764492d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/api/next_api_changes/development/18978-LPS.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+Changes to _AxesStack, preparing for its removal
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The behavior of the internal ``.figure._AxesStack`` class has changed
+significantly in the process of removing the old behavior of gca() with regard
+to keyword arguments. When the deprecated behavior has been fully removed and
+gca() no longer takes keyword arguments, the ``.figure._AxesStack`` class will
+be removed.
diff --git a/doc/users/next_whats_new/axes_kwargs_collision.rst b/doc/users/next_whats_new/axes_kwargs_collision.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f04f5e3f82b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/users/next_whats_new/axes_kwargs_collision.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+Changes to behavior of Axes creation methods (gca(), add_axes(), add_subplot())
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The behavior of the functions to create new axes (``.pyplot.subplot``,
+``.figure.Figure.add_axes``, ``.figure.Figure.add_subplot``) has changed. In
+the past, these functions would detect if you were attempting to create Axes
+with the same keyword arguments as already-existing axes in the current figure,
+and if so, they would return the existing Axes. Now, these functions will
+always create new Axes.
+
+Correspondingly, the behavior of the functions to get the current Axes
+(``.pyplot.gca``, ``.figure.Figure.gca``) has changed. In the past, these
+functions accepted keyword arguments. If the keyword arguments matched an
+already-existing Axes, then that Axes would be returned, otherwise new Axes
+would be created with those keyword arguments. Now, an exception is raised if
+there are Axes and the current Axes were not created with the same keyword
+arguments. In a future release, these functions will not accept keyword
+arguments at all.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
index 67436b15f444..9e7ea15db0dc 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class _AxesStack(cbook.Stack):
 
     This stack stores ``key, (ind, axes)`` pairs, where:
 
-    * **key** is a hash of the args and kwargs used in generating the Axes.
+    * **key** is a hash of the args used in generating the Axes.
     * **ind** is a serial index tracking the order in which Axes were added.
 
     AxesStack is a callable; calling it returns the current Axes.
@@ -85,14 +85,6 @@ def get(self, key):
         item = dict(self._elements).get(key)
         if item is None:
             return None
-        cbook.warn_deprecated(
-            "2.1",
-            message="Adding an axes using the same arguments as a previous "
-            "axes currently reuses the earlier instance.  In a future "
-            "version, a new instance will always be created and returned.  "
-            "Meanwhile, this warning can be suppressed, and the future "
-            "behavior ensured, by passing a unique label to each axes "
-            "instance.")
         return item[1]
 
     def _entry_from_axes(self, e):
@@ -114,18 +106,12 @@ def add(self, key, a):
         """
         Add Axes *a*, with key *key*, to the stack, and return the stack.
 
-        If *key* is unhashable, replace it by a unique, arbitrary object.
-
         If *a* is already on the stack, don't add it again, but
         return *None*.
         """
         # All the error checking may be unnecessary; but this method
         # is called so seldom that the overhead is negligible.
         cbook._check_isinstance(Axes, a=a)
-        try:
-            hash(key)
-        except TypeError:
-            key = object()
 
         a_existing = self.get(key)
         if a_existing is not None:
@@ -689,19 +675,12 @@ def add_axes(self, *args, **kwargs):
                     "add_axes() got multiple values for argument 'rect'")
             args = (kwargs.pop('rect'), )
 
-        # shortcut the projection "key" modifications later on, if an axes
-        # with the exact args/kwargs exists, return it immediately.
-        key = self._make_key(*args, **kwargs)
-        ax = self._axstack.get(key)
-        if ax is not None:
-            self.sca(ax)
-            return ax
-
         if isinstance(args[0], Axes):
             a = args[0]
             if a.get_figure() is not self:
                 raise ValueError(
                     "The Axes must have been created in the present figure")
+            key = self._make_key(*args)
         else:
             rect = args[0]
             if not np.isfinite(rect).all():
@@ -848,7 +827,7 @@ def add_subplot(self, *args, **kwargs):
                                  "the present figure")
             # make a key for the subplot (which includes the axes object id
             # in the hash)
-            key = self._make_key(*args, **kwargs)
+            key = self._make_key(*args)
 
         else:
             if not args:
@@ -1601,36 +1580,23 @@ def gca(self, **kwargs):
         %(Axes)s
 
         """
+        if kwargs:
+            cbook.warn_deprecated(
+                "3.4",
+                message="Calling gca() with keyword arguments is deprecated. "
+                "gca() no longer checks whether the keyword arguments match "
+                "those with which the current axes were created. In a future "
+                "version, gca() will take no keyword arguments. The gca() "
+                "function should only be used to get the current axes, or if "
+                "no axes exist, create new axes with default keyword "
+                "arguments. To create a new axes with non-default arguments, "
+                "use plt.axes() or plt.subplot().")
+
         ckey, cax = self._axstack.current_key_axes()
         # if there exists an axes on the stack see if it matches
         # the desired axes configuration
         if cax is not None:
-
-            # if no kwargs are given just return the current axes
-            # this is a convenience for gca() on axes such as polar etc.
-            if not kwargs:
-                return cax
-
-            # if the user has specified particular projection detail
-            # then build up a key which can represent this
-            else:
-                projection_class, _, key = \
-                    self._process_projection_requirements(**kwargs)
-
-                # let the returned axes have any gridspec by removing it from
-                # the key
-                ckey = ckey[1:]
-                key = key[1:]
-
-                # if the cax matches this key then return the axes, otherwise
-                # continue and a new axes will be created
-                if key == ckey and isinstance(cax, projection_class):
-                    return cax
-                else:
-                    cbook._warn_external('Requested projection is different '
-                                         'from current axis projection, '
-                                         'creating new axis with requested '
-                                         'projection.')
+            return cax
 
         # no axes found, so create one which spans the figure
         return self.add_subplot(1, 1, 1, **kwargs)
@@ -1706,28 +1672,12 @@ def _process_projection_requirements(
 
         # Make the key without projection kwargs, this is used as a unique
         # lookup for axes instances
-        key = self._make_key(*args, **kwargs)
+        key = self._make_key(*args)
 
         return projection_class, kwargs, key
 
-    def _make_key(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        """Make a hashable key out of args and kwargs."""
-
-        def fixitems(items):
-            # items may have arrays and lists in them, so convert them
-            # to tuples for the key
-            ret = []
-            for k, v in items:
-                # some objects can define __getitem__ without being
-                # iterable and in those cases the conversion to tuples
-                # will fail. So instead of using the np.iterable(v) function
-                # we simply try and convert to a tuple, and proceed if not.
-                try:
-                    v = tuple(v)
-                except Exception:
-                    pass
-                ret.append((k, v))
-            return tuple(ret)
+    def _make_key(self, *args):
+        """Make a hashable key out of args."""
 
         def fixlist(args):
             ret = []
@@ -1737,7 +1687,7 @@ def fixlist(args):
                 ret.append(a)
             return tuple(ret)
 
-        key = fixlist(args), fixitems(kwargs.items())
+        key = fixlist(args)
         return key
 
     def get_default_bbox_extra_artists(self):
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py b/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
index 7b35433bd3c2..a8a9b81a56bf 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
@@ -2410,10 +2410,13 @@ def polar(*args, **kwargs):
     """
     # If an axis already exists, check if it has a polar projection
     if gcf().get_axes():
-        if not isinstance(gca(), PolarAxes):
+        ax = gca()
+        if isinstance(ax, PolarAxes):
+            return ax
+        else:
             cbook._warn_external('Trying to create polar plot on an axis '
                                  'that does not have a polar projection.')
-    ax = gca(polar=True)
+    ax = axes(polar=True)
     ret = ax.plot(*args, **kwargs)
     return ret
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
index 49627e9ce433..8d835d705200 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_axes.py
@@ -2387,28 +2387,34 @@ def _as_mpl_axes(self):
     # testing axes creation with plt.axes
     ax = plt.axes([0, 0, 1, 1], projection=prj)
     assert type(ax) == PolarAxes
-    ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj)
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj)
     assert ax_via_gca is ax
     plt.close()
 
     # testing axes creation with gca
-    ax = plt.gca(projection=prj)
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        ax = plt.gca(projection=prj)
     assert type(ax) == mpl.axes._subplots.subplot_class_factory(PolarAxes)
-    ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj)
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj)
     assert ax_via_gca is ax
     # try getting the axes given a different polar projection
-    with pytest.warns(UserWarning) as rec:
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
         ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj2)
-        assert len(rec) == 1
-        assert 'Requested projection is different' in str(rec[0].message)
-    assert ax_via_gca is not ax
-    assert ax.get_theta_offset() == 0
-    assert ax_via_gca.get_theta_offset() == np.pi
     # try getting the axes given an == (not is) polar projection
-    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
         ax_via_gca = plt.gca(projection=prj3)
-        assert len(rec) == 1
-        assert 'Requested projection is different' in str(rec[0].message)
     assert ax_via_gca is ax
     plt.close()
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
index c5ab3cf6d232..ee796049c6d8 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 import matplotlib as mpl
 from matplotlib import cbook, rcParams
+from matplotlib.cbook import MatplotlibDeprecationWarning
 from matplotlib.testing.decorators import image_comparison, check_figures_equal
 from matplotlib.axes import Axes
 from matplotlib.figure import Figure
@@ -154,30 +155,42 @@ def test_gca():
         assert fig.add_axes() is None
 
     ax0 = fig.add_axes([0, 0, 1, 1])
-    assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax0
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax0
     assert fig.gca() is ax0
 
     ax1 = fig.add_axes(rect=[0.1, 0.1, 0.8, 0.8])
-    assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax1
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax1
     assert fig.gca() is ax1
 
     ax2 = fig.add_subplot(121, projection='polar')
     assert fig.gca() is ax2
-    assert fig.gca(polar=True) is ax2
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        assert fig.gca(polar=True) is ax2
 
     ax3 = fig.add_subplot(122)
     assert fig.gca() is ax3
 
     # the final request for a polar axes will end up creating one
     # with a spec of 111.
-    with pytest.warns(UserWarning):
-        # Changing the projection will throw a warning
-        assert fig.gca(polar=True) is not ax3
-    assert fig.gca(polar=True) is not ax2
-    assert fig.gca().get_subplotspec().get_geometry() == (1, 1, 0, 0)
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        # Changing the projection will raise an exception
+        fig.gca(polar=True)
 
     fig.sca(ax1)
-    assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax1
+    with pytest.warns(
+            MatplotlibDeprecationWarning,
+            match=r'Calling gca\(\) with keyword arguments is deprecated'):
+        assert fig.gca(projection='rectilinear') is ax1
     assert fig.gca() is ax1