James Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy Fired Rehired

James Gunn is Back on for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Fired Guardians director has been rehired by Disney after months of behind the scenes drama

After nearly a year of speculation, fan petitions, and more than a few upset actors, Disney and Marvel Studios have rehired Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and 2 director James Gunn to direct the third (and final?) volume of the space-based MCU series.

For those in need of a refresher, here’s what happened: Gunn was let go by Disney in July 2018 after alt-right personality and all around piece of shit Mike Cernovich unearthed years-old tweets made by the director which were, at best, in very poor taste, and campaigned to have the director fired. Gunn publicly apologized for the unfortunate “jokes” in question, but the controversy eventually resulted in Disney firing the filmmaker, who was assisting with Avengers: Infinity War at the time and was already in pre-production on the third Guardians movie. Cernovich and his fellow morons, who took issue with Gunn’s outspoken political tweets, similarly targeted comedians Patton Oswalt and Michael Ian Black.

According to Deadline, the decision to reinstate the fan favourite filmmaker was actually made by Disney and Marvel brass months ago. Executives saw Gunn’s apology and overall handling of the situation in a positive light and Disney Chairman Alan Horn reportedly met with the director multiple times to review the situation. Gunn remained contrite throughout, despite the whole mess being largely engineered by a community of trolls and racists who targeted him less over offense at the gross, decade old jokes and more for their disagreement with his political beliefs.

 

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It also certainly didn’t hurt that Gunn had the support of his star-studded cast (the Guardians actors all signed and shared a joint statement in defense of their director) or that he never once badmouthed the House of Mouse or Marvel Studios over the firing – unlike actor Dave Bautista (Drax), who made no secret of his displeasure with Disney’s controversial decision.

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Ultimately we think this is the right call by Disney and Marvel. Gunn is one of the chief reasons the Guardians of the Galaxy movies – and arguably the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole – has been such a success. Even if it’s simply a financial calculation on Disney’s part, there’s no question that these movies would not be the same without Gunn’s involvement.

But what does this mean for Suicide Squad 2, the DC Universe sequel that Gunn was recently tapped to direct? Apparently nothing. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will reportedly begin filming AFTER Gunn finishes the film.

What do you think? Are you happy to see Gunn back in the saddle for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or do you think he should have stayed fired?

Sound off in the comments or let us know on Twitter @ThatShelf or on Instagram @OnThatShelf

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