Marvel Studios is currently in talks with writer/director James Gunn to helm their 2014 scheduled comic book adaption Guardians Of The Galaxy.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news saying that the studio liked “Gunn’s sensibility and his ability to mix comedy elements with action and horror, a quality he shares with The Avengers director Joss Whedon.” Previously, Gunn has written and directed the films Slither and Super. Having worked his way up through the low-budget indie Troma Studios, Gunn has also written the 2002 live action Scooby Doo and the 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead.
Gunn has reportedly beaten out Peyton Reed (Bring It On) and directing team Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson) for the job, though if negotiations with Gunn fall through they could be back in the mix. Previously, Reed had been up for the directing job for Twentieth Century Fox’s Fantastic Four, though the job went to Tim Story.
Schedule to hit theaters on August 1, 2014, Guardians is expected to at least help set up Marvel’s Avengers 2 due on May 1, 2015. Chris McCoy is currently rewriting the project’s screenplay from a previous draft by Nicole Perlman.
