Although James Gunn has not yet been replaced as director on 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3', a good few names have been associated with the job title.

One name that's come up repeatedly has been Adam McKay, who directed 'Anchorman', 'Step Brothers' and most recently has pivoted to politically-tinged movies like 'The Big Short' and the upcoming 'Vice'. In an interview with MTV's 'Happy Sad Podcast', McKay admitted that he'd been approached by Disney about the possibility of replacing Gunn.

"We have talked a little bit, yeah. We’re always kind of talking. I think Feige is just the greatest," said McKay, referring to Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige. McKay was previously involved in 2015's 'Ant-Man', when he was brought on to punch up the script with Paul Rudd.

Interestingly, the character that McKay was desperate to grips with wasn't Star-Lord or Drax or even Rocket Racoon, but a character that hasn't appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all - namely, the Silver Surfer.

"I would do anything to do Silver Surfer because visually you could do what the Wachowskis did with ‘Speed Racer’ with Silver Surfer, yet at the same time there’s a great emotional story in there, where the guy has to make the choice to save his planet."

A release date of 2020 was originally lined up for 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3', however that date has now been shelved while Disney lines up a director to replace Gunn.