Guardians Of The Galaxy 3: 6 Directors Who Could Replace James Gunn
Is this Edgar Wright's return to Marvel?
One of the most under-appreciated elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the fact that it never suffers any significant behind-the-scenes issues.
While it seems like every other big franchise is having problems (Warner Bros and the DCEU, Lucasfilm and Star Wars, Universal and the Dark Universe) Marvel has pumped out Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War - and many others - all without any major hitches.
So in a way, they were probably due some bad luck, and here we are. Yesterday, news broke that Disney had taken the extraordinary step of firing James Gunn (who'd directed Guardians Of The Galaxy, its sequel, and was set to direct the third), due to a series of distasteful tweets that had recently come to light.
Gunn is a very talented filmmaker and he worked wonders with the Guardians series, but now that he's gone, Marvel and Disney have a huge question to answer: who's going to make Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3?
That question is going to be one of the biggest stories of the year, and there are already several candidates well-positioned to make the threequel a success...
6. Brad Bird
Known For: The Incredibles, Incredibles 2, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Why He's Right For The Job: Three of Bird's strongest movies involve a team/family dynamic of some kind, with his Incredibles series exploring the relationships between a dysfunctional family of superheroes, and Ghost Protocol focusing on giving each member of Ethan's crew a pivotal role in their mission, with no throwaway or obsolete characters.
A Guardians Of The Galaxy film needs both these qualities, and with each of Bird's movies also carrying a great sense of humour - as well as being flat-out enjoyable, no frills attached - he'd be a good pick if Marvel were looking for a steady hand who's also capable of injecting his projects with a bit of flair.
Chances Of It Happening: Bird is already within the Disney family after directing three movies for Pixar, and the success of Incredibles 2 raised his stock significantly after Tomorrowland - another Disney production - underperformed.
And while Disney would be smart to stick him on Incredibles 3 immediately - rather than waiting another 14 years - you have to imagine he's in consideration. 6/10