Laika chief executive Travis Knight says he’s coming home to Oregon to run his Hillsboro animation studio, dismissing reports he would direct another Hollywood blockbuster.

Knight has spent more than a year away from the day-to-day leadership of Laika while directing “Bumblebee,” the latest installment in the Transformers franchise. The movie is due in theaters Dec. 21.

When he took the Transformers job, Knight told Laika employees his heart remained with the studio and that he would return. But his temporary departure apparently slowed production on Laika’s fifth film, “Missing Link,” which is now due in theaters April 12. And it delayed production on Laika’s untitled sixth movie.

Meanwhile, Hollywood publications began speculating that good reviews for “Bumblebee” might lead to him being hired to direct the third installment of Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

In an interview with an Italian website this week, though, Knight, 45 firmly rejected that notion.

"After ‘Bumblebee,’ my goal is to return to work at the animation studios Laika, my 'child,' bringing with me all the baggage of experiences I have gained with this project," Knight said, according to a translation by Comicbook.com. "I'm a huge fan of what Marvel did; it's no surprise for anyone to know that as a child I was a huge fan of comics. But no, it's just a rumor!"

Knight made his directing debut in 2016 with “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Laika’s fourth film. It was a critical favorite and garnered two Oscar nominations.

His father, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, owns Laika. Travis Knight serves on Nike’s board.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699