Before Guardians of the Galaxy devastated the box office, director James Gunn’s filmmaking vision lay elsewhere. He started his career with the behemoth that is Troma films, the masterminds behind the oddly specific 1980s-nuclear-waste-themed Toxic Avenger cult franchise and Class of Nuke ‘Em High, to name a few.
His work on Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be a logical progression from his humble beginnings; it resonates with the characteristic tongue-in-cheek humour that made Troma an iconic brand. However, it appears Gunn has done some soul searching and has decided to revisit the genre that sparked his career. Gunn has announced that he has written and will be producing a horror film called The Belko Experiment, which begins shooting in Bogotá, Columbia early next month.
The film follows 83 American expats that work for the Belko Corporation who get trapped in their place of work, where a voice over a loudspeaker tells the employees that they must kill each other, or die themselves, in a predictable, albeit always welcome, dark turn of events. Not much else is known about the film, but it’s surely going to involve lots of violence and will likely not take itself too seriously, given Gunn’s track record.
This announcement isn’t great news for die-hard Guardians fans, as it means they will probably have to wait a little longer for the release of the second installment of the series. However, Michael Rooker (Yondu in Guardians) will be involved in the project and Gunn has promised that he will revise the script for the sci-fi sequel before he departs for South America. So everybody wins!
#Peace.Love.JamesGunn
