Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt "Led the Charge" to Rehire James Gunn at Marvel

In 2018, Disney did the unthinkable: the studio fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn over resurfaced tweets that then Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn called "indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values." The shocker happened as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the third and final film in Gunn's trilogy following the blockbuster 2014 film and its 2017 sequel, was written and expected for a 2020 release under the Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios. Weeks later, production was put on hold as Marvel and Disney "regrouped" to search for a replacement director. Behind the scenes, franchise stars Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldaña, who play Star-Lord and Gamora, met privately with Marvel Studios leadership to reinstate Gunn. 

"Fighting to get our director back, that was something that brought us together," Karen Gillan, who plays the cyborg former assassin Nebula, told EW. "In a weird way, the Guardians felt more real than ever. Literally, we had Chris Pratt leading the charge. It was like, Star-Lord is real!"

Days after the headline-making firing, Gunn's Guardians cast — Pratt, Saldaña, Gillan, Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper — publicly rallied around their director with an open letter signed "The Guardians of the Galaxy." 

"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. 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," the statement read in part. "Being in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has been a great honor in each of our lives. We cannot let this moment pass without expressing our love, support, and gratitude for James. 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 statement continued: "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."

Ultimately, after months of uncertainty, Disney reversed course and rehired Gunn as director of Vol. 3 in March 2019. Gunn would go on to make The Suicide Squad for rival Warner Bros. and DC before beginning production on the end of his Marvel trilogy — and the end of his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn would later be appointed co-chief of DC Studios with Peter Safran, taking a Feige-like role for the new DC Universe.

"We lost him for a second, and then we fought for him, and we got him back," Gillan told EW. "It would've felt so weird to do it without him."

Starring Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo, Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens only in theaters May 5th.