It appears that Disney has their eye on a director to replace James Gunn as the helmer of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3’. Travis Knight started out in feature animation and was nominated for Academy Awards for directing ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and serving as lead animator of ‘The Boxtrolls’. His first (mostly) live-action film arrives in just weeks, when the ‘Transformers’ spin-off ‘Bumblebee’ hits screens. ‘Bumblebee’ is still too far off to have been screened for critics, but early buzz is that this movie has more heart than the previous explosion-filled Michael Bay installments. The positive reactions to ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ and ‘The Boxtrolls’ helps further hope that ‘Bumblebee’ will be a welcome change of pace for that franchise.
Marvel had previously had Knight on their shortlist to direct ‘The Eternals’ but ultimately that job went to Chloé Zhao.
In July, on the eve of San Diego Comic-Con, Disney fired Gunn, who had co-written and directed the two ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after online enemies released screen caps of distasteful old tweets he’s shared before he ever became affiliated with Disney or Marvel. Gunn had been planning to make ‘Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3’ in 2019 to be released in 2020, but since his firing, Disney has temporarily put that project on the back burner. Earlier attempts to replace him have not panned out, with some directors reportedly refusing to take the job in a show of solidarity with Gunn. The cast of ‘GotG’ and fans have rallied to Gunn’s defense, but Disney has remained firm in their decision to sever all ties with him. It was reported, however, that Disney planned to keep his first draft of the script for ‘Guardians 3’, although it is expected that whoever does take the job will make alterations to fit their own vision.
Keep in mind, this is just a rumor for the time being. But what do you think? Would Knight make a decent replacement for Gunn?
Source: The D Insider
