James Gunn Surprisingly Reinstated As Director Of ‘Guardians 3’ By Disney And Reactions Are… Mixed

In a move that surprised almost everyone, except those who know anything is possible when it comes to Hollywood and making money, Disney reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

As you probably recall, Gunn was fired last July by Disney after decade-old tweets of his that joked about pedophilia and rape resurfaced.

Back then, Variety reported…

Gunn’s firing was approved by Disney Studios chief Alan Horn, with his boss, company CEO Bob Iger weighing in on the final decision. The involvement of the highest levels of Disney signals that the cast pressure to rethink the Gunn ouster will struggle to gain internal support. “I don’t see Disney re-hiring him,” says one person close to the matter. “Those tweets were so horrible and Disney has a different standard than other studios.”

Well… they did.

Because James Gunn, who recently started working as the writer and director on an all-new relaunched Suicide Squad movie for Marvel’s archrival DC Comics, is back.

Deadline reports…

Gunn’s return to Guardians of the Galaxy 3 got complicated when he signed on to write and direct the Suicide Squad sequel for Warner Bros and DC. Marvel Studios has agreed to commence production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after Gunn completes Suicide Squad 2. Making the whole thing easier though was the fact that Marvel Studios never met with or considered any other director for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, despite speculation that Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi and Vice helmer Adam McKay were in the mix.

On Friday, Gunn confirmed his re-hiring with his first tweet and Instagram post since July of 2018 that read, “I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months,” Gunn wrote on Twitter. “I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be. I deeply appreciate Disney’s decision and I am excited to continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all. I have been, and continue to be incredibly humbled by your love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Love yo you all.”

Prior to being let go by Disney, Gunn had already written a script for the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie which, even prior to his re-hiring, Marvel had confirmed would be used for Volume 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 brought in $773.3 million worldwide, while Vol. 2 raked in $863.8 million internationally at the box office. (In case you were wondering what the real reasons were behind his being re-hired.) A release date has yet to be announced for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Check out some of the reactions to the news of Gunn’s reinstatement below…

https://twitter.com/Guardian__Quill/status/1106638375015104513

https://twitter.com/kiImonger/status/1106630403962617858

https://twitter.com/mariascaroI/status/1106639013182689281

https://twitter.com/trivksterloki/status/1106630400804298752