Taika Waititi Wants to Do Another Marvel Movie, But It Won’t Be ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

Fans hoping to see Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi take over the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise are out of luck — Waititi has confirmed he has no interest in filling the void left by the dismissal of James Gunn.

Speaking at FX’s Television Critics of America stop today, Waititi said he wants to remain involved with Marvel, but didn’t want anything to do with the third Guardians flick.

“I didn’t really,” Waititi revealed when asked whether or not he talked with Marvel about the position. “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.”

Waititi did reveal at the tour stop that he would like to continue his relationship with Marvel and Disney in some fashion, should it be a position other than taking over the Guardians franchise.

The New Zealand native is currently working on wrapping up post-production on Jojo Rabbit for Fox Searchlight. Waititi was also in the director’s chair for an episode of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian for Disney+.

“It was amazing. Favreau is a genius,” the director said about the Star Wars property. “It’s fun doing something in the Star Wars universe. It’s a strangest to see a stormtrooper, and then when you’re doing a scene with 50 or 60 of them, it’s amazing.”

It should be noted that Waititi’s sure to have a job at Marvel Studios however long he decides to want one. The What We Do In The Shadows alum went from directing indie flicks to reinvigorating a fledgeling Marvel franchise with Thor: Ragnarok. The third Thor flick ended up as a box office darling for Disney, grossing over $854 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing Thor film for Marvel Studios by over $200m.

With Waititi out of the running for the Guardians director role, who would you like to see helm the third cosmic adventure between the lovable losers? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation online by hitting up @AdamBarnhardt to talk all things cosmic Marvel!

Thor: Ragnarok is now streaming on Netflix. Upcoming Marvel Studios movies scheduled for release this year include Captain Marvel on March 8th, Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.