'Guardians of the Galaxy' Director James Gunn Could Reportedly Direct Another Marvel Movie

Disney unexpectedly cut ties with Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn last month following a series of offensive tweets he had posted earlier in his career resurfaced. The response from the studio was to cut ties with the filmmaker, claiming his messages weren't a reflection of their values, leading fans to wonder about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A new report claims that, while Gunn is no longer attached to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he could potentially be re-hired for another Disney project, including an MCU film.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that multiple sources confirmed with them that talks are still taking place between Gunn and Marvel Studios, potentially to develop an entirely different MCU property. One source noted, "An end-all verdict hasn't been issued and conversations with Marvel are still ongoing."

Another interesting claim in the report is that Disney still plans to use Gunn's script for the third Guardians film, despite another director stepping in to bring that story to life. With Gunn having made the offensive tweets prior to his involvement with the studio, he's not in breach of contract, with it potentially being more financially prudent for Disney to use Gunn's script.

While Disney reportedly has no intention of reinstating Gunn on the film, other studios see a great opportunity to swoop in and persuade the filmmaker to leave Disney behind. One of the rumored studios is Warner Bros., which could result in Gunn joining the DC Extended Universe in some capacity.

"I've been advised that we can't bring anything to him until the Disney matter is 100 percent resolved," one studio executive shared.

The situation arose after Gunn made comments critical of Donald Trump, leading alt-right bloggers to investigate the filmmaker's social media accounts for incriminating evidence. The bloggers uncovered comments that made light of rape and pedophilia dating back to 2009.

Gunn apologized for making the remarks not only after the messages surfaced, but he had also previously publicly apologized in 2012.

After the comments were brought to the attention of Disney, they issued the statement, "The offensive attitudes and statements on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."

The cast of the film has shared their support of Gunn in the situation, though they were careful not to pose any threats about their involvement with the upcoming film. Dave Bautista, on the other hand, grew more irate with his comments each passing day, ultimately claiming that he would subject himself to any legal ramifications imposed by Disney by leaving the film if they didn't use Gunn's script.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is slated to debut in 2020.

Stay tuned for details as the situation unfolds.

Would you like to see Gunn tackle another Marvel property? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T The Hollywood Reporter]