Taika Waititi Confirms He Will Not Direct ‘Guardians 3′: “Those Are James’ Films”

If you ask random Marvel Cinematic Universe fans about who they’d like to see take over for James Gunn on the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, the overwhelming majority would probably say Taika Waititi. And that shouldn’t be any surprise, as his “Thor: Ragnarok” has been the closest MCU film to mimic the sensibilities of Gunn’s space franchise. However, speaking at a recent event, Waititi quickly shot that down.

“Nope. Not doing that movie,” said Waititi (via The Wrap). “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.”

READ MORE: Edgar Wright & Chris Miller Feel The Best Director To Take Over The ‘Guardians’ Franchise Is Still James Gunn

That being said, the real question is whether or not he was approached by Marvel Studios about the third ‘Guardians’ film or if he had meetings about it. To answer that question, Waititi said (via Deadline), “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.”

It’s that sentiment that seems to be shared, not just by Waititi, but with many other filmmakers as well, including Edgar Wright, Chris Miller, and Adam McKay, who have all been talked about as potential replacements for Gunn. One has to wonder if this is going to restrict how Marvel Studios moves forward with the third film in the highly successful franchise. Perhaps to entice a director of that caliber, the studio will have to let them start from scratch, and potentially reboot the series. You know, in a similar way to Gunn is now rebooting “Suicide Squad” over at Warner Bros.

READ MORE: Adam McKay Says He Was Approached About ‘Guardians 3’ But He Would Rather Tackle ‘Silver Surfer’

The conversation turned to the upcoming work that he is confirmed to do, directing an episode of the upcoming Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” which marks the first time the “Star Wars” franchise has been adapted for live-action TV.

Waititi said, about working on the series, “It was amazing. [series creator Jon] Favreau is a genius…it’s fun doing something in the ‘Star Wars’ universe. It’s strange to see a stormtrooper, and then when you’re doing a scene with 50 or 60 of them, it’s amazing.”

According to the filmmaker, you don’t have to be concerned that he’s going to drastically change the tone of the series, as he did with Marvel’s ‘Ragnarok,’ when he tackles “The Mandalorian.”

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When asked if his comedic stylings will show up in the series, he said, “A little bit, but ‘Star Wars’ is very different to the Marvel style. The tone of the first films really should be adhered to, it’s what the fans like. You can’t disrespect it. Definitely, my tone is in there.”

There’s no release date set for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” or “The Mandalorian” just yet. But the latter will premiere as part of Disney+ streaming service in late-2019.