Bumblebee’s Travis Knight Says He’s Not Directing Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Bumblebee director Travis Knight is looking to return to his animation studio Laika after his live-action feature debut, and claims reports of him possibly helming an MCU film are just rumors. Knight left a major impression on audiences two years ago with his directorial debut Kubo and the Two Strings, and the excitement for Bumblebee has made him a rising name.

He got the Bumblebee job over some other very qualified candidates, but he’s shown along the way that he could be the perfect choice to help reset the Transformers film franchise. He’s the first director to tackle a live-action film that isn’t named Michael Bay, and he’s going back to a cherished time for many Transformers fans like himself to do so. His direction looks to have brought a sense of adventure and heart to these films that have been sorely missing as of late. With him possibly being on the verge of breaking out even more, he insists he’ll take a smaller next step than rumors have suggested.

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Badtaste.it spoke to Knight as part of Bumblebee‘s press tour, and asked him what’s next for the rising director. He’s not only a director for Laika, but also the studio’s CEO, and he confirmed he still has a future with the animation company. As for the rumor that he could be up for directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 though, he says it’s still just that, a rumor.

After Bumblebee, my goal is to return to work at the animation studios Laika, my “child”, bringing with me all the baggage of experiences I have gained with this project. […] I’m a huge fan of what Marvel did, it’s no surprise for anyone to know that as a child I was a huge fan of comics. But no, it’s just a rumor!

Knight was the lead animator on Laika’s first movie Coraline, before he moved up the corporate chain even further. He became even more involved as a result, serving as the lead animator and producer on ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls, before actually directing Kubo and the Two Strings himself. It’s not surprising that he ‘s planning to return to animation in some form next either. Now that he’s tested the waters of live-action filmmaking, he could bring a new style to one of the studio’s upcoming projects.

That said, he’s not totally discounting the rumors of him being on Marvel’s radar. He says he’s a big fan of theirs, and has been since he was a child reading their comics. Knight was initially linked to the MCU as being one of the finalists for The Eternals before Chloe Zhao was hired. It appeared he made a strong impression, with his name coming up once again in regards to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s vacancy in the director’s chair. As with any job hunt in Hollywood, those involved never confirm the discussions are happening until they’re officially allowed to. This isn’t to say that’s what Knight is doing, but one can never be too sure with these types of scenarios and quotes.

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