Director James Gunn reveals how he felt when Disney fired him over some old tweets.
After the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), James Gunn was considered one of the best directors of Marvel and superhero cinema. But a great controversy arose over some old tweets that he published a long time ago and Disney decided to fire him.
Warner Bros. didn’t care so much and they hired, which is why they released the movie The Suicide Squad (2021) and the HBO Max series The Peacemaker. Luckily, Disney decided to count on him again and now he will end his trilogy at Marvel with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
In a recent interview with Empire, James Gunn has revealed how he felt when he was fired.
“We went through this journey where we entered the belly of the beast, and I was kicked out, and the people I hired to bring to life saved me and brought me back into the fold. They put me in the life raft. And now we can finish all of this together.”
“It was hard to say goodbye to Guardians of the Galaxy. But the things I think about from that moment are the love I received from my family and friends. I think about how Zoe Saldana and her husband came to cook me a meal the night after it happened. How Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff came to hang out with me, to be my friends.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy actors pushed for him to return.
Undoubtedly, one of the Marvel stars who most publicly complained about the injustice of the dismissal was Dave Bautista, a great friend of James Gunn. Another who was clear that he was not going to return was Chris Pratt. In addition, some directors who were dreaming of replacing him, such as Taika Waititi, said that they did not feel qualified for this task.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 from Marvel Studios
But… What exactly is the reason for his dismissal?
In 2009, James Gunn jokingly (although not at all funny) tweeted: “How I enjoy when little kids touch me in my silly spot.”
In another tweet from that year, he mocked rape victims: “The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like how good it feels not to be raped!”
In that year, his publications went completely unnoticed. But after he became mega famous they came to light. That’s why Disney fired him and did so with this statement: “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered in James Gunn’s Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be released on May 5, 2023, while the rest of the installments of this peculiar Marvel superhero team are available on Disney Plus with this link.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
