More than a week after Disney fired James Gunn as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a new report is suggesting that the studio could be looking to reinstate him.
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On Monday, the cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise released a joint letter online saying that they support Gunn, pushing for Disney to bring him back. In Variety’s piece covering that letter, it was reported that sources have been indicating that Disney is looking to do just that.
According to Variety, “sources say there has been a growing feeling that Gunn could be reinstated, especially because Marvel and Disney have been unusually radio-silent on who could replace him since the firing.”
The article goes on to explain that the search for a new Guardians 3 director would need to be quick, as the movie is set to begin production at the beginning of next year. Gunn’s script is already finished, so a new director would need to have time to rework the script before filming in just a few months.
Since Disney and Marvel haven’t made any moves in that direction, it could be a good indication that the studio is looking to bring Gunn back into the fold.
The other major factor at play right now is the absence of Walt Disney chairman Bob Iger. The head of the company is currently on vacation, and insiders believe that a decision on the matter won’t be made until he returns to work.
This all started just before San Diego Comic-Con when several of Gunn’s tweets from nearly a decade ago surfaced online. Many of these offensive tweets saw Gunn attempt to make light of issues like pedophelia and rape. The director apologized for the jokes back in 2012, and again after they were brought up last week.
In the time since his firing, many have spoke out in support of Gunn, including his Guardians cast and several other directors around the industry. More than 300,000 fans have signed a petition for Disney to reinstate the director after his firing.
Do you think there’s a chance Disney reinstates James Gunn after the Twitter controversy? Let us know in the comments.