After a turbulent few weeks, Disney’s final verdict on James Gunn’s future as Director for the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has been revealed – and it doesn’t bode well for him and his supporters.
According to a report from Variety, the mega-company decided not to rehire the 52-year-old filmmaker, despite the hopes of both the fans and the GOTG cast.
The decision came after Gunn had a courtesy meeting with studio chairman Alan Horn. The meeting in question was arranged after Gunn’s reps at UTA pushed for him to be given another chance. It was intended as a way for the two men to clear the air in person after the firing debacle.
The fact that Gunn will not be returning to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 leaves open a whole slew of other questions. Who will take his place? When is filming expected to start? When will the search for a new director begin?
The third is, at the very least, answerable. At the time Gunn met with Horn, President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige was out of town and unable to attend. Rumors circulated that Fiege was on Gunn’s side and was pushing for his return. However, Fiege will aid in the search for a new director to take the GOTG3 project.
Allegedly, the film will still use James Gunn’s script though the firing has created doubt as to whether the film will start shooting in January 2019 as originally intended.
This news follows the firing of Gunn, who was given the boot due to a series of edgy jokes about pedophilia and rape that he tweeted around a decade ago.
Since then, many fans have yearned for his return. A petition was created on change.org in a bid to convince Disney to rehire the director and it has so far amassed an impressive 380,998 signatures out of a maximum goal of 500,000 (at the time of writing).
Likewise, the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy recently came out with a joint statement, defending Gunn.
What do you think of Disney’s decision? Was it the right choice to make? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
