James Gunn is now in a position that is only rivaled by Marvel’s Kevin Feige. The director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now the co-CEO of DC Studios under Warner Bros. Discovery. However, in 2018 he never would have thought about being in such a fairytale situation.
In 2018, Gunn was told that he was fired by Disney. Even though, he was eventually rehired by the House of Mouse, the seeds of his transfer to DC had already been sown. Also, he certainly did amend his ways after the firing- stayed away from hard politics and instead went after wild rumors.
Why Does James Gunn Only Tweet About Entertainment And Not Politics?
The Hollywood Reporter detailed what went down with James Gunn when he was fired by Disney in 2018 after some of his questionable tweets came to light. The site stated that his Marvel co-workers, including Kevin Feige, supported him during the worst time of his professional career. Eventually, Disney reversed the decision and welcomed him back, but he had already signed on with rival company DC to direct The Suicide Squad.
One thing led to another, and soon he and the other co-CEO of DC Studios, Peter Safran, were busy charting out the new path of the newly christened, DCU. But the entire harrowing experience filled Gunn with wisdom. The director stated that he changed his social media habits and stayed away from politics.
He said:
“I got to a place where I was very frustrated with one specific thing that was happening in the world, and I started speaking out and that got me fired, but I also think that I did the right thing [speaking out].”
Anyone, who follows the ace director on Twitter knows that nowadays he keeps himself busy “correcting wild online fan rumors.” Regarding this, he said, “When either somebody’s just making stuff up to get clicks or somebody is just lying to somebody to make them look like an idiot, yeah, I’m going to say something.”
Many fans agree that Gunn should go after such rumors rather than tackle politics again. After all, this time the career stakes are higher and there’s no way to know if his co-workers will come to his rescue this time around.
How James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Co-Stars Helped Him Get His Job Back
The Hollywood Reporter stated that when Chris Pratt and the rest of the cast got to know about James Gunn’s firing, they were distraught and in despair. But the Guardians of the Galaxy group quickly pulled together to get a plan into action. All of them signed an open letter asking for Gunn to be reinstated. But that’s not all. As per THR:
“Zoe Saldaña trekked to Marvel headquarters to privately meet with president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige, co-president Louis D’Esposito and then-head of production Victoria Alonso… Saldaña and her husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña, came over to Gunn’s Malibu home to make dinner for him and his now-wife, Jennifer Holland. The next day, Saldaña made a return visit, this time with Gillan.”
Pratt was also vocally working behind the scenes to get Gunn back for the third film in the franchise. But Dave Bautista wasn’t so secretive. He tweeted, “Nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists.”
The site stated that everyone “dropped everything to help the director who had created the Guardians onscreen, giving some a prominence in Hollywood they’d only dreamt about.” Nowadays, the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is busy promoting their film and James Gunn is busy preparing for the launch of the DCU.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is releasing on 5 May 2023.
Source: THR
