In 2018, some decade-old tweets of James Gunn resurfaced where he casually joked about rape and pedophilia. Following that, Gunn apologized for the tweets, but it was not enough to save him from trouble. Disney’s executive at the time, Alan Horn made a tough decision to fire the Guardians of the Galaxy director.
Later, in 2019, Horn hired Gunn back to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after he realized that removing him from the franchise was a bad idea. Recently, Horn revealed that Gunn has been nothing but a ‘gentleman’ in his self-presentation, and hiring him back felt like the right thing to do.
James Gunn’s Life After the Dismissal from Disney
Gunn’s dismissal from the studio was a turning point in his life. Even though he received tremendous support from family and friends, Gunn realized the essence of reevaluating his priorities.
“My feet weren’t on the ground at that point,” Gunn said. “It really made me go, ‘What matters to me? Adulation and money? Is that really what I care about?’”
Later, to stay humble, Gunn sold his Malibu house he bought following the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. He also took responsibility for his action and as Horn later described, Gunn has been a ‘gentleman’ in his approach.
“Everything he did subsequently was first class. He was such a gentleman about it in the ensuing months that we just brought him back. It felt like the right thing to do. I hold him in absolute high regard.”
Even after the removal of Gunn, Marvel did not look for another director. Gunn was also in close contact with Kevin Feige and the stars of the franchise.
Also read: Superman: Legacy Director James Gunn Completely Relates to Henry Cavill’s Character: “He’s everything I am….the ultimate outsider”
James Gunn is Irreplaceable
For Feige and the Guardians, James Gunn’s removal from the studio was hard to digest. “We couldn’t stomach it,” Feige said, adding that the studio never considered anyone else for the job, “We didn’t even put a preliminary list together just because we couldn’t do it.”
Feige was in favor of bringing Gunn back, working behind the scenes. He distributed Gunn’s scripts to the cast just a few weeks after his removal. To the lead of the franchise, Chis Pratt, it was shocking, “I was like, ‘Oh, so we can use the script written by James Gunn, but we just can’t have him direct?’”
“The script is so good that you’re going to be like, ‘Yeah, we had to get rid of him because we couldn’t associate with that man. But we will make his script.’”
When Gunn got his job back, he visited Feige in his house to inform him that just a day ago he had committed to another project of Marvel’s rival DC’s The Suicide Squad. To which Feige replied, “Just make a good movie.” Gunn’s job was secured after that.
The Guardian Stars Wanted The Director Back
The Guardians signed an open letter which was shared by Pratt on Instagram, “I’d personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3. If you please, read the following statement- signed by our entire cast,” the actor wrote in the post.
In the time of need of a friend, Pratt texted verses from the Bible to Gunn,
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Also, Pratt and Zoe Saldaña were reportedly spotted rushing to the Marvel headquarters to meet with Feige after Gunn’s removal. Saldaña said,
“This was a man who took chances on us, and it just made sense for us to have his back when he needed it the most.”
Commenting on the stars, Gunn said that Bautista and Pratt are so different in their approaches. “Chris is like, ‘How do we do this methodically and take it one step at a time?’ Dave is like, ‘F**k you.’” All the cast members advocated bringing James Gunn back to the director’s chair.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to release in theatres on 5 May 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
