Despite the rumours, petitions, and vehement pushback to their decision, Disney and Marvel are reportedly not budging in the removal of director James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
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This latest update comes from Variety industry sources who say Gunn had recently attended a meeting with Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn.
As you may know by now, the 52-year-old was fired from the popular franchise after a string of his tweets, which joked about rape and paedophilia, resurfaced from between the periods of 2008 to 2011.
Disney immediately severed ties with the director saying his behaviour was unacceptable and out of line with Disney’s studio values.
Per Variety: “Horn decided to take the meeting but only as a courtesy to clear the air with Gunn”. It was described as “civil” and “professional” but ultimately, Disney’s decision was final. Variety’s insiders said Marvel president Kevin Feige was travelling at the time and so did not attend. Again, despite rumours suggesting Feige was interested in having Gunn back, he stood by his studio’s decision.
Following Gunn’s dismissal, Guardian actors have all publicly supported him through their Twitter accounts – Dave Bautista the most vocal in his objections.
Bautista, who plays Drax, The Destroyer, first tweeted against Disney just hours after Gunn’s firing writing he was “NOT ok” with the director’s removal. The former WWE star has since fired off a number of tweets repeatedly denouncing Disney for their decision.
The actor has also tweeted details for a change.org petition demanding Disney reinstate Gunn as director. Nearly 14,000 people have signed the petition.
Two weeks ago the main cast of Guardians released a statement announcing their joint support. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, and Gunn’s brother Sean Gunn all signed the open letter sharing their wish to see Gunn “reinstated as director of Volume 3”.
Disney has yet to announce a replacement director for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, expected to be released in 2020.
