Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth Have Unfollowed James Gunn on Twitter

While the Guardians of the Galaxy cast is showing massive support for James Gunn right now, it seems as though some of their Marvel Cinematic Universe teammates may not be quite on board with the “Rehire Gunn” campaign. As this Twitter user discovered, it seems that Captain America star Chris Evans and Thor star Chris Hemsworth have quietly unfollowed Gunn’s Twitter account:

UPDATE: Evans has responded by pointing out that he never followed Gunn in the first place:

In case you’re wondering, Twitter follows between big actors, directors, and producers of big blockbuster franchises have indeed become something of a calling card to fans. It’s enough of signal flare that even when an actor’s casting in a project is just rumor, a Twitter follow between that actor and the film’s director and/or producers can be an early sign that rumor has become fact, even before an official studio announcement. Not surprisingly then, the notion of two big MCU stars unfollowing one of the franchise’s biggest (former) directors is having the opposing effect on fan assertions. Of course, before fans jump to anymore wild conclusions, it should be stated that we have absolutely no idea why Evans and Hemsworth would be unfollowing Gunn, or if there was some behind-the-scenes discussion between the actors and director about it.

First of all, Gunn was never Evans and/or Hemsworth’s director in the MCU (or at all), so their relationship with him is something on a “friend of a friend” level, professionally speaking. Moreover, this controversy surrounding Gunn and his “offensive tweets” from ten years ago, joking about everything form rape to pedophilia, has largely split both fan and celebrity circles down the middle. Whatever personal opinions Evans and Hemsworth may have of the situation, their public personas as worldwide superhero icons is a brand they may want to keep separate from this situation – with good reason.

Finally, this move on the actors’ part is coming at a time when pretty much everyone in the entertainment industry is taking a good long hard look at their Twitter history, with many deleting huge batches of old tweets – if not dropping out of the soical media platform, altogether. And who can really blame them? After all, who wants to risk a major Hollywood career over a tweet – or worse, association over someone else’s tweet? It would be interesting to see a more extensive breakdown of which stars have bailed on Gunn’s account; we have a feeling that while two of the most conspicuous, Evans and Hemsworth won’t be alone in that camp.

However, this fan pretty much nails how this situation could turn, should Disney actually bow to pressure to reinstate Gunn as director of Guardiand of the Galaxy vol. 3:

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on Digital platforms and lands on DVD and Blu-ray on August 14. It can be pre-ordered here. Ant-Man and the Wasp is now in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.