James Gunn reveals he pitched a 'Hitman' movie before making 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

Director is a fan of the games

James Gunn became a household name thanks to his directorial efforts on the 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' movies, but things could have turned out very differently for the director.

Gunn revealed on Twitter that prior before being hired to direct the first 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' movie, he pitched a film based on the 'Hitman' games to an undisclosed studio.

The 'Hitman' franchise received a big-screen outing in 2007 starring Timothy Olyphant, but Gunn was keen to put his own stamp on the franchise.

Gunn revealed that "the studio really wanted to hire me, but a producer on the project did not. I was bummed then, but thank God, because I would have never been able to do GotG if they had said yes!"

The year after Gunn released the first 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' movie, another 'Hitman' film was released.

The utterly forgettable 'Hitman: Agent 47' debuted in 2015 to a decent box office take but poor reviews.

Considering Gunn pitched the film circa 2012/2013, Gunn's version of 'Hitman' would have been more in line with the 'Blood Money' era of the franchise as the "World Of Assassination" trilogy didn't debut until 2016.

Gunn's films are famous for their cheeky sense of humour and black comedy, which would have made Gunn an ideal fit for the world of 'Hitman'.

Weeks before I got Guardians I pitched a HITMAN movie. The studio really wanted to hire me, but a producer on the project did not. I was bummed then, but thank God, because I would have never been able to do GotG if they had said yes! https://t.co/0JYQGBsuGY

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 6, 2022

Indeed, Gunn confirmed that his favourite game in the 'Hitman' series was 2006's 'Blood Money' in a reply to a Twitter user.

Gunn is back in the hot seat for 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' which is due for release next May, along with 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' which will debut this December.

The 'Hitman' franchise has enjoyed strong critical reviews and a sizeable fanbase thanks to the "World Of Assassination" trilogy which ended with last year's 'Hitman 3'.

We very much enjoyed 'Hitman 3' and ranked it as one of our 10 favourite games of 2021.

With video game movies becoming a hot commodity in Hollywood, it's only a matter of time before the 'Hitman' franchise gets a 3rd chance at a big screen adventure - this time, we hope it's actually good.