James Gunn's New Movie Is Basically Office Space Meets Battle Royale

Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn is going from Rocket and Groot to a bloodbath amidst the cubicles of suburbia.

Gunn achieved geek icon status with his breakout hit Guardians of the Galaxy, and now he's trying something completely different for his next project. While keeping himself busy with the finishing touches on the Guardians sequel, Gunn also found the time to put together a script for a new project called The Belko Experiment—and now we have our first look.

The film is basically Office Space meets Battle Royale (with a shot of Lord of the Flies thrown in for good measure), following a battle to the death in a typical office building. The project is described as a "gruesomely funny horror thriller," and kicks off with a staff of American office drones who work for a non-profit in Colombia, pushed into a game of kill or be killed by evil forces that lock down their building. The only way out? Survive. The cast is led by Guardians of the Galaxy alum Michael Rooker, who's also well known for his early stint on The Walking Dead.

Gunn is no stranger to the genre, having written and directed 2006's throwback creature feature Slither (starring Nathan Fillion, who Gunn snuck into Guardians of the Galaxy with an alien cameo). Though Gunn wrote the script, The Beiko Experiment was actually directed by Greg McLean, who helmed the indie horror hit Wolf Creek. That mix of styles looks to be a fascinating opportunity for Gunn's acerbic sense of humor to crash into McLean's brutal, straight-up horror approach. McLean has built most of his career on the Wolf Creek franchise, so it'll also be interesting to see him get a chance to stretch here.

Gunn debuted the first teaser trailer for the film this week, ahead of a full trailer release planned for November 30. The Belko Experiment actually premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year to solid buzz, and in today's low and mid-budget horror climate, you'd have to think it has a good chance of finding an audience. The film is scheduled to arrive in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.

Do you plan on checking this one out when it opens next year?