Sony Pictures Cancels James Gunn's Comic-Con Appearance

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was just at the top of the geek stratosphere, but after many old tweets surfaced in which he made jokes about pedophilia and transphobia, Gunn's world has since come crashing down.

Buzz leading to San Diego Comic-Con indicated that Gunn would be appearing at Sony's Hall H panel later this evening, but in the wake of Disney severing its ties with the director it seems that Sony Pictures is following suit.

As stated by the Hollywood Reporter, Gunn was supposed to be a part of the Sony Pictures presentation, but they have since removed him from participating in the wake of his old tweets coming to the forefront.

It was believed that Gunn would be announcing an adaptation of the comic book Nameless during Sony's panel, based on his previous tweets leading up to the show. Gunn posted a picture of a symbol that has frequently appeared in the horror comic by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, along with the time of Sony's Hall H panel doing the convention. There's also a thought that Gunn was possibly teasing Berserk, based on the manga of the same name, but Nameless seemed more likely.

But now that this news has come to light, it begs to question whether the movie will go forward with Gunn, or if it will come together at all.

After the old tweets began surfacing last night, Gunn issued a statement in which he said he was remorseful for his old tweets, citing them to a sense of humor that has since matured and changed.

"Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo," Gunn wrote on social media. "As I have discussed publicly many times, as I've developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. It's not to say I'm better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it's shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.

"In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies. For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn't living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it."

We'll see if this development is only a temporary delay or if the potential Nameless film is completely derailed. Sony will probably make an announcement, or the word will leak out, sometime after Comic-Con.