I Am Groot Director Addresses Helming Future Guardians of the Galaxy Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was released earlier this year, and it is expected to be the last Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to feature the original Guardians crew as well as the last film in the franchise to be helmed by director James Gunn. Gunn is now heading things over at DC Studios, which leaves Marvel fans wondering the fate of the Guardians. The post-credit scenes of the third film teased that some of the characters could be coming back, but it's unclear which director would take on the task. This week, a new batch of I Am Groot shorts were released on Disney+, and director Kirsten Lepore recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about taking over Gunn's role as Guardians director in the future. 

"Yeah, I'm open to it, for sure," Lepore said about potentially directing a Guardians film. "Years ago, I was like, 'I definitely want to do live-action!' I was trying to move into live-action, and now, I think I'm more at peace. I don't even want to say 'at peace' because I'm not settling. I love animation so much. I think I better understand what I bring to animation because it does take a really specific type of person to direct it. I've been doing it for so long and I feel very comfortable in that space, and I feel good at it. So I really enjoy working in animation – and I would be totally happy to work in animation for the rest of my life – but I would also be very curious to experiment with live-action." 

Was James Gunn Involved With Making I Am Groot?

Lepore recently spoke with ComicBook.com about the new season and addressed Gunn's involvement. While Gunn did not play a role in creating I Am Groot's second season, the director did give his blessing. 

"I think he had a lot of trust and faith in us, especially after Season 1. I took it as an approval where I was like, 'Okay, we got our groove, we're doing our thing, James gives us the thumbs up. I think we're good to go for Season 2,'" Lepore said. "His fingerprints and DNA are always in there because he created this character."

James Gunn Confirms Groot Theory:

At the end of the third film, Groot declares, "I love you guys," which marks the first time the character has said something other than "I am Groot" aside from his "We are Groot" line in the first film. There's a fan theory floating around that suggests Groot actually did say his usual "I am Groot" at that moment, but the audience has been with the character long enough to now understand him, just like his Guardians family. Recently, Gunn confirmed the theory on Twitter. 

"I really need this to be true @JamesGunn," @FranTGP tweeted along with an io9 article detailing the Groot theory. "Spoiler.... Yes that's exactly what it means," Gunn confirmed.

If the Guardians of the Galaxy return to the MCU, who would you want to see directing them? Tell us in the comments!