10 Superhero Movies James Gunn Could Direct Now He's No Longer Helming GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
James Gunn's firing has left Hollywood reeling but while there are no plans for him to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the filmmaker is in high demand and could take the helm of any of these...
While there was briefly a glimmer of hope that James Gunn could end up back in charge of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we learned this week that a meeting with Disney simply confirmed the inevitable: he will not return to direct the Marvel Studios movie. However, despite those offensive Tweets, there are plenty of other movie studios who are currently eyeing the filmmaker for a future blockbuster.
It's been said that Gunn could one day return to Marvel so we're not only taking a look at the projects he could develop for them but also rival studios like Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures. There are a lot of upcoming comic book adaptations the filmmaker would be well-suited to outside of Guardians of the Galaxy and we think you'll find this list of rather unexpected choices makes for interesting reading.
So, to check these suggestions out, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below.
Thunderbolts
James Gunn has made no secret of the fact he would like to take the helm of a Thunderbolts movie and there would be something rather ironic about the filmmaker directing a movie about a group of villains becoming superheroes given how his Tweets have resulted in him being perceived by many people.
This team has unlimited potential on the big screen and Marvel's own Task Force X could easily top what we see in Suicide Squad. The only issue here is that Marvel will need to spend the next few years introducing some bad guys and not killing them off as we'd need to see some established bad guys!
Carnage
I was wracking my brains for a Sony movie Gunn could take the helm of and not that many came to mind. After all, we know the studio is looking for female directors to work with characters like Black Cat, Silk, and Silver Sable and I can't see him being overly keen on directing a Kraven the Hunter movie!
Carnage, however, would be right in his wheelhouse. James Gunn is no stranger to horror after Slither and delivered some great R-Rated action scenes in Super so I could see him having a lot of fun with a character like Cletus Kasady as he goes on some sort of murderous, bloody rampage in the Big Apple.
Man Of Steel 2
On the surface, Gunn and Superman seem like an odd fit but if Warner Bros. is looking for a bold new take on the Man of Steel, I can't think of anyone better to take the iconic DC Comics superhero in a new direction. It would be a Superman movie like no other and that's actually not a bad thing.
What would be really cool is seeing Gunn take Superman into outer space, especially as many of his greatest adventures have taken place there. I'm not talking about a Guardians of the Galaxy rip off by any means but I would love to see what the filmmaker could bring to the table with this character.
Green Lantern Corps
This feels like an obvious suggestion but there's no denying that if anyone can save Green Lantern on the big screen after that disastrous 2011 effort, it's Gunn. The differences between Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel are massive and so I don't think he would end up recycling ideas from the MCU.
The only potential pitfall here is whether or not he'd be happy working with Geoff Johns' screenplay without doing any work on it but I'm sure a compromise could be found and Gunn's involvement would massively increase interest in this movie. We can only hope Warner Bros. is seriously considering it!
Fantastic Four
We've heard from numerous sources that Disney and Marvel may be open to rehiring Gunn for another movie somewhere down the line so what about Fantastic Four? This reboot will have to be nothing short of great after THREE disastrous efforts so a capable filmmaker being at the helm is a must.
I honestly can't think of anyone better to reboot the franchise than Gunn and doing these characters justice after a hiatus of sorts from the MCU could be just what he needs. Plus, you don't need me to tell you that he would do a great job with the cosmic villains the team so often faces in their travels.
Nova
In the past, Gunn hasn't expressed a whole lot of interest in bringing Nova to the big screen but we know Kevin Feige wanted him to expand the cosmic side of the MCU, so could exploring the Nova Corps (or what remains of them after Thanos' attack in Avengers: Infinity War) be of interest to him?
Quite possibly and there's no denying that Nova is a character who has a huge amount of potential. Returning to Marvel for a cosmic adventure which is smaller in scale wouldn't be a bad thing and is probably more likely than him being allowed to take charge of a much larger, bigger name franchise.
Justice League Dark
Justice League Dark is a movie which Warner Bros. has been trying to make a reality for years now but after losing a number of directors, it appears to have completely stalled (the critical and commercial response to Justice League can't have helped as the team's name has obviously been tarnished now).
A team full of weird and wonderful characters is something Gunn is all too familiar with and if Warner Bros. were to allow the filmmaker to play with an R-Rating and a lower budget, I think he could do something really inventive which would finally give this team the movie they definitely deserve.
Howard The Duck
If I'm being honest, I don't think a Howard the Duck movie is anywhere close to being a priority for Marvel Studios. However, with the right script and supporting characters (we know Gunn is a fan of Hit-Monkey...), a spinoff revolving around the feathered fan-favourite could work really well in the MCU.
If Gunn could find a way to include the original Guardians - the Ravagers who we met in Vol. 2 - then that would be even better because he could use Howard to expand the cosmic side of the MCU in ways which we might not expect and there's no denying that that would be a lot of fun to see play out.
Moon Knight
Kevin Feige has teased the possibility of Marvel Studios having plans for Moon Knight and considering the fact the small screen already has the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage, and The Punisher, it's about time the MCU gets to introduce a vigilante who often deals with much smaller scale threats and villains.
Marc Spector is a strange character with a very unique origin story and that's something I think could Gunn could do a lot with, especially if he were to write the screenplay as well. Of all the Marvel movies listed here, I honestly think this movie would show the director's skills even better than the rest.
Silver Surfer
Saying that, though, I can't help but wonder how much Gunn would love to get his hands on some of those Fox-owned Marvel characters and Silver Surfer would no doubt be right at the top of the list. Just imagine the sort of zany adventures he could come up with for Galactus' Herald on the big screen!
Regardless of whether or not this movie is set before or after the first time The Avengers meet him and Galactus, Silver Surfer is someone who is definitely well-suited to a solo outing, hence why Fox has been trying to make it happen for years now. In Marvel and Gunn's hands, though, it would rock.