‘Captain Marvel’ Producer Comments on James Gunn’s Involvement

Even before he was removed at Marvel and headed to Warner Bros. to write Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn apparently had relatively little to do with Captain Marvel.

Gunn, who was rumored to be overseeing the cosmic side of Marvel’s sprawling cinematic universe, apparently chimed in occasionally during the production of Captain Marvel, but it does not sound like his departure will have had significant impact on the final product.

“I think he’s read the script, we talked to him about it a little bit,” executive producer Jonathan Schwartz said during a set visit that happened back when Gunn was still part of the MCU. “It takes place before a lot of what he’s doing happens, so I’m sure the Skrulls will be a fun toy to play with at some point. But I think we’ve really been able to do our own thing. But we love when James gives input for sure.”

Gunn was fired last July after right-wing political activists called attention to a number of vulgar tweets made years before he started working with Marvel. While Gunn’s shock-and-schlock period was well-documented, a coordinated effort to pressure Disney into firing him paid off.

Fans would later petition to have him restored, but Disney rejected the idea and ultimately Gunn found himself in talks with several other studios whose brand was not explicitly family-friendly. Warner Bros. apparently made the best pitch. Meanwhile, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which may still use Gunn’s script, is on an indefinite hiatus while Marvel tries to find another director.

Promotion for Captain Marvel has been steadily accelerating over the last month or so, and will continue to do so as its March 8th release date approaches. There is a certain level of hype surrounding the movie solely because it’s produced by Marvel Studios, but people appear to be mostly excited for the debut of the MCU’s first solo female hero.

Carol Danvers, played by Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson, will make her first big screen appearance in Captain Marvel, though her debut was alluded to at the end of 2017’s Avengers: Infinity War in the form of Nick Fury’s pager.

Besides Larson and Samuel L. Jackson’s Fury, the movie will feature appearances by Clark Gregg, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Lee Page, Lashana Lynch, and more. Also, look out for an exciting cameo appearance by a Blockbuster Video store.

Captain Marvel is set to hit theaters on March 8th.