James Gunn says Farscape inspired Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movies have been inspired by the TV series 'Farscape'.

The 53-year-old filmmaker has admitted the sci-fi series has helped to shape the money-spinning Marvel franchise, which began with 2014's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

Responding to a fan question about the influence of 'Farscape', James - who also helmed 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' in 2017 - wrote on Twitter: "People are always bringing up a million films asking me if they're inspirations. Usually the answer is no. In the case of #Farscape it is most definitely YES. (sic)"

James previously revealed he plans to "wrap up" the stories started in 2014's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' with the next instalment of the franchise.

The filmmaker is poised to helm the much-anticipated 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3', and James teased what fans can expect from the movie in an Instagram post.

Responding to fan questions on the photo-sharing platform, James shared: "If everything goes to plan it will wrap up the stories I started in Guardians 1. (sic)"

There had previously been doubts as to whether the third 'Guardians' film would even be made, after Disney fired James following the emergence of a series of offensive tweets.

The company subsequently rehired the filmmaker, who took "full responsibility" for the controversy.

The director previously said: "I feel bad for that and take full responsibility.

"Disney totally had the right to fire me. This wasn't a free speech issue. I said something they didn't like and they completely had the right to fire me. There was never any argument of that. That first day ... I'm going to say it was the most intense of my entire life.

"There have been other difficult days in my life, from the time I got sober when I was younger, to the death of friends who committed suicide. But this was incredibly intense. (sic)"