According to a new story from The Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn has recently been approached by several top producers and executives as they look to hire the Guardians of the Galaxy director to take charge of any number of big movies. "I’d work with him in a heartbeat," said one senior executive at a rival studio. However, Gunn is unable to entertain any offers until the Disney situation is resolved and Warner Bros. (which is in charge of the DCEU) is named as one possible suitor to the director.
It's said that Gunn is currently locked in complicated negotiations with Disney over his exit settlement and due to his "pay or play" status with the studio, he'll likely receive a payout of $7 million - $10 million because he's entitled to what they would have paid him had he actually worked on the film.
Sources also tell the trade that Disney is planning on using Gunn's script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, something which confirms that report from earlier today was inaccurate (as we suspected). Here's the kicker, though; two sources tell them that there is a hope the filmmaker will return to Marvel Studios either to helm Vol. 3 or to take charge of another movie for them somewhere down the line. "An end-all verdict hasn’t been issued and conversations with Marvel are still ongoing."
For now, it seems we'll just have to wait and see what happens but the future looks bright for Gunn regardless of whether or not he ends up directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. What do you think?