Few Marvel films bear as distinctive a mark of its filmmaker as the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise does under James Gunn. The choice of music, the off-kilter humor and the focus on personal issues against the space-epic backdrop are all elements introduced by Gunn to a film that had few people’s interest at first. But Gunn managed to make the Guardians into a blockbuster series, and after two films, he has now revealed that he wants to return to the franchise for one last time.
The topic came up on Instagram, where James Gunn was part of a post celebrating the variety of directors who have worked on the MCU. When the filmmaker was asked by a fan how many more Guardians movies he plans to direct, Gunn answered with a simple “1 more.”
So it seems that Gunn is ready to say goodbye to the world of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and seek fulfillment elsewhere. Certainly, there is no dearth of demand for the talented filmmaker, with Marvel’s arch-rival DC Comics already having hired Gunn to direct the Suicide Squad sequel. This follows in the proud tradition of Marvel and DC poaching each other’s best comic book writers and artists for their own comics.
Related: Thor: Love & Thunder Timeline Explained by Guardians 3 Director James Gunn
Considering Gunn’s turbulent history with Disney, it is no wonder that he is looking to move on to other studios. The mouse empire famously fired Gunn recently when certain offensive tweets the filmmaker had made a decade ago resurfaced online. It took the combined support for Gunn from Marvel fans and the entire cast of the movies to finally force Disney to recapitulate and hire him back. It would be unsurprising if Gunn is still sore about that incident, and ready to call it quits with the MCU.
On the other hand, Gunn, a self-confessed comic books fan, might find it unprofitable to turn his back on a franchise that he helped kick-start, and a cinematic universe that he is deeply familiar with. Even if he is running out of stories to tell about the Guardians, there are plenty of other heroes and villains in the MCU that could benefit from a bit of Gunnification.
For now, Gunn is fully committed to completing work on the Suicide Squad sequel and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The latter of the two films will see the Guardians dealing with the fallout of Avengers: Endgame, and presumably tracking down the Gamora from the past who is now a part of the present timeline. There is also the question of Thor, and whether he will factor somehow into the story, considering he was last seen aboard their ship.
With the amount of loss that the God of Thunder has suffered in recent times, it might be therapeutic for him to spend some time with a group of heroes who place such a strong emphasis on familial bonds, and the banter between Thor and Starlord is sure to be a highlight of such a storyline. ComicBook.com.