No, Bradley Cooper Won’t Be Directing Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

You can go ahead and scratch Bradley Cooper’s name from the list of possible contenders for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Currently out promoting his directorial debut, A Star is Born, Cooper sat down with JOE.ie (h/t ComicBook.com) to discuss his music-fueled passion project, and why he has no interest in replacing James Gunn at the helm of Marvel’s Guardians series anytime soon.

So while the search for Gunn’s successor is very much ongoing, Disney won’t be turning to Bradley Cooper (AKA Rocket Raccoon) in order to course-correct their dormant blockbuster. Which is something that can also be said about Paul Feig and James Gunn, incidentally, after CEO Bob Iger stood firm last week when pressed about the director’s swift dismissal.

Meanwhile, here’s what Bradley Cooper had to say about potentially picking up the reins on Guardians 3:

In directing it? I could never direct anything that I didn’t write. No, I could never direct anything that I didn’t write.

Not that you can blame him. For one, Bradley Cooper is by no means the first (nor is he likely to be the last) director to take caution when being linked to a project he didn’t write, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has also become something of a hot potato for Disney and Marvel Studios, as anyone who dares accept such a momentous gig will surely face intense scrutiny right up until the moment it hits theaters in 2020.

Even that tentative release window is subject to change in light of James Gunn’s departure, which tells us that Doctor Strange 2 (and maybe The Eternals?) will be slotting into that 2020 slate in lieu of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. More on this situation as it develops.