Filmmaker James Gunn isn't interested in directing a Star Wars movie. After making his name as a writer on the live-action Scooby-Doo movies and Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead remake in the early 2000s, Gunn tried his hand at directing with 2006's horror-comedy Slither. A well-received box office bomb-turned cult hit, the film established Gunn as a storyteller with a weird and often dark sense of humor. He went on to further hone his voice on 2010's Super, a satirical take on costumed crime-fighters that was mostly ignored thanks to mixed reviews and the very similar Kick-Ass having opened mere months earlier.
It wasn't until he directed the first Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014 that Gunn became a household name among film buffs. Gunn's portrayal of the idiosyncratic superheroes known as the Guardians was a critical darling and commercial hit, and he followed it up with the equally successful Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 three years later. However, as most people know by now, Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was pushed back after the filmmaker was fired by Disney when older offensive tweets of his resurfaced. He's since been rehired, but not before he signed on to helm DC's The Suicide Squad first.
With Hollywood essentially shut-down in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Gunn has been doing his part to provide people who're self-quarantining with ways to pass the time. In addition to assembling a list of "Quarantine & Chill" movie recommendations and suggesting a coronavirus-friendly greeting, Gunn held a Q&A for his followers on Instagram. One of them asked him if he was interested in directing a Star Wars movie; you can read his response in the screenshot below.
While the Star Wars franchise continues to be extremely popular following Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, it's had significant problems behind the scenes. Every one of Disney's Star Wars movies has endured highly-publicized creative issues (save for, ironically, the divisive The Last Jedi), resulting in filmmakers stepping down, substantial reshoots, or, in the case of Solo, directors being fired mid-production. Because of this, it's been speculated many of the biggest moviemakers in Hollywood are wary of working with Disney and Lucasfilm on Star Wars. Even someone like Taika Waititi, who's already helmed an episode of The Mandalorian and is said to be in the running to direct an upcoming Star Wars movie, has expressed his reservations about the idea.
Still, in Gunn's case, he seems less concerned about potential creative differences with Disney and Lucasfilm and mostly just uninterested in directing a Star Wars movie. As a storyteller, he likes to make films about damaged antiheroes who gradually evolve into better people, and typically throws a healthy dose of comedy into the mix. That makes him a perfect match for off-kilter franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad, but less so the sincere space soap opera of Star Wars. Frankly, he's done such a good job leaving his stamp on Guardians and, judging by the early glimpses of the film, The Suicide Squad, it's hard to imagine too many fans would rather he join the galaxy far, far away anyway.
Source: James Gunn/Instagram