James Gunn Rehired for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

UPDATE: James Gunn has sent out a tweet thanking everyone who has supported him over the last few months. You can see that Tweet down below:

❤️ pic.twitter.com/gdMQjlqIjs

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2019

In a stunning turn of events, Disney has rehired James Gunn to direct the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

This comes from Mike Fleming Jr of Deadline, who said that both Marvel and Disney have confirmed that Gunn will return to the film’s production. According to this Deadline report, the decision to reinstate James Gunn actually happened “months ago”. Walt Disney Studios president Alan Horn was convinced after Gunn’s apology and how he handled the whole situation.

Back in July, Gunn was fired after old controversial tweets re-emerged on Twitter. Over the next few weeks, reports wavered on whether or not Disney would reinstate the director. The “final verdict” on the decision dropped in August, where it was said that Disney was moving on from Gunn.

The Guardians of the Galaxy cast has been firmly in Gunn’s corner during this entire time. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the MCU, has probably been his strongest supporter. Here’s an excerpt from an interview Bautista had with Shortlist, where he said he would ask for his release if Gunn’s script wasn’t used:

“Where I’m at right now is that if [Marvel] don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me.”

“I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t.”

Along with that, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast put out a statement showing their support of James Gunn:

View this post on Instagram

Although I don’t support James Gunn’s inappropriate jokes from years ago, he is a good man. I’d personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3. If you please, read the following statement- signed by our entire cast.

A post shared by chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) on Jul 30, 2018 at 9:41am PDT

James Gunn is also tapped to helm the upcoming relaunch/reboot/sequel of DC’s Suicide Squad (rumored to be titled The Suicide Squad). Just last week, Gunn and Warner Bros. were reported to be in talks with Idris Elba, who is expected to replace Will Smith as Deadshot in the film.

This situation is sure to be polarizing. Some will love this rehiring and some will bash Disney for going against their previous statements. Either way, it seems that the production for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is back on track.

What are your thoughts on this news? Are you on board with Gunn returning? Let us know in the comments below!

Taylor Cole

Avid gamer and placeholder of what is now the worst selfie of all time. Mostly an Xbox/PS4 player but I have been known to destroy friendships in Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.