James Gunn has had quite the last few years. The filmmaker started out in the superhero genre with Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, projects which transformed obscure names into extremely popular characters. But then came the bump in the road: Gunn was fired from Marvel Studios thanks to a Twitter scandal; many thought that was going to be the end of his career.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Not only did Disney eventually see the light, but Gunn was also able to create The Suicide Squad because of it—a project which led to him creating one of the most popular shows of this year in John Cena's Peacemaker.
Next on his plate will be 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, marking his return to Marvel. Gunn has mentioned on multiple occasions that this outing, alongside The Holiday Special, was going to be his last rodeo with the space-faring misfits. But are there any other characters from either Marvel or DC he'd like to work with next?
James Gunn's Future With Superheroes
When asked on Twitter if there were any other Marvel characters Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn would like to develop, the director gave a blunt and vague response.
"You've previously said after GOTG3, your work with Marvel is likely done. If they handed you absolutely any Marvel character(s) you wanted, with free reign, is there one you'd like to do a project about?"
Gunn noted how "there are presently no characters at either Marvel or DC that [he] want[s] to be working with right now that [he isn't already doing so]." He went on to elaborate, mentioning that he was careful with his wording:
"There are presently no characters at either Marvel or DC that I want to be working with right now that I am not... Yes and I acknowledge the wording of this tweet is linguistic Olympics."
Another Twitter user pleaded for the filmmaker to work on a Star Wars trilogy, to which the director responded: "I’m finishing a Guardians trilogy. That’s enough space opera for me at this moment."
What Comes After Guardians of the Galaxy?
The future of James Gunn's work in the superhero genre has been a common topic of conversation over the past year or two. While many might read his quotes as a signal that he is close to being done with the world of comic book movies, that is likely not the case at all.
The wording of his Tweets is really important. It leaves plenty of room open for interpretation. Gunn mentions explicitly how there are no other characters he wants to do that he isn't already working on—this doesn't just encompass ones general audiences already know about, but also those who may not have been announced yet.
The director could very easily have already been attached to an unannounced MCU project; just likely not an Avengers film. On the DC side of the coin, not only is he working on a second season for Peacemaker, but also on another unknown DC Comics property.
While Vol. 3, which releases on May 5, 2023, may be his last run with the Guardians themselves, it's a safe bet that he's nowhere near being done with the genre as a whole.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5, 2023.
