Taika Waititi Says He Won't Direct 'Guardians Of The Galaxy 3'

The fate of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is still up in the air, with no director in place following the departure of James Gunn (who has landed on his feet quite nicely) after some controversial tweets. The popular choice to replace him, at least if you judge by fan reaction on social media, has been Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi, and it's easy to see why. While the humor and style were different, it had similar offbeat energy that could fit in nicely with Marvel's bunch of a-holes. Unfortunately, it ain't gonna happen. 

Speaking with The Wrap, Waititi says he's not directing Guardians 3, but he's not done with the MCU just yet...

“Nope. Not doing that movie. I’m hanging out with [Marvel] still. Talking about new stuff, but I don’t know what that might be yet. I want to do another movie with them.”

In a further statement (via Deadline) he talked about whether he had conversations with Marvel about the gig at all...

“I didn’t really. For me, those are James [Gunn]’s films. Going into something like that with his stamp all over his films, would be like going into someone’s house and saying ‘Hey, I’m your new dad, and this is how we make peanut butter sandwiches now.’ It feels kind of awkward.”

Certainly, there will be other directors out there more than happy to jump at the opportunity. Whether Marvel wants to go with someone less-experienced is another story. Could make things tough if the popular choices all feel the same way about replacing Gunn.