Guardians Of The Galaxy 3: 6 Directors Who Could Replace James Gunn

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