Dave Bautista: Disney “Jumped the Gun” Firing James Gunn From Guardians Vol. 3 Over Old Tweets

It wasn’t but three years ago Disney removed James Gunn from his position atop the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Despite the director being rehired shortly after, Guardians star Dave Bautista still suggests the Mouse “jumped the gun” in firing Gunn in the first place. According to the wrestler-turned-Hollywood superstar, Disney and then-CEO Bob Iger made the right decision in bringing the filmmaker back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Disney, I think they jumped the gun, they made a rash decision, they made a mistake. I think, eventually, they really did the right thing which was another huge statement,” Bautista told Collider this week.

He added, “For Disney to go back and say, ‘Hey guys, we made a mistake, we’re hiring James back,’ that in and of itself is a huge statement, so I don’t want to overlook that at all. They really put themselves out on a limb, which they didn’t need to do. Because they could have moved on and just gone on without [Gunn] and the next Guardians still would have made a butt load of money and people would have come out to see it because they’re so invested in it, but they didn’t. They did the right thing, they said ‘hey guys, we made a mistake.’ And that in itself is a message.”

Gunn was fired after years-old distasteful tweets surfaced and quickly went viral. Around the same time, Disney removed Roseanne Barr from the reboot of her ABC sitcom for making other controversial tweets. In fact, Gunn was initially fired months before production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was set to roll cameras.

“We fully support James Gunn. We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss,” an open letter from the cast said in part.

The letter added, “In that time, we’ve been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3 as well as discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him….We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together on set making Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2. The character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart all know, trust, and love. In casting each of us to help him tell the story of misfits who find redemption, he changed our lives forever. We believe the theme of redemption has never been more relevant than now.”

The first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are now streaming on Disney+ while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due to hit theaters May 5, 2023.

What members of the Guardians would you like to see spin-off shows of? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!