James Gunn is known for his work in the superhero genre. He has directed projects for both MCU and DCEU and now is the co-CEO of the new DC Studios and working on establishing a reboot. While he has now reached great heights, the journey started with 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a movie about lesser-known heroes from Marvel comics who come together to form a team. The team of underdogs was loved by the MCU fans and soon appeared alongside the Avengers at the end of the Infinity Saga to battle Thanos.
Chris Pratt, played Star-Lord, leader of the Guardians, but his casting faced a slight hiccup when the actor faced a backlash for allegedly following a church that is believed to be anti-LGBTQ. Many celebrities have condemned the church for its beliefs.
James Gunn threatened to quit the MCU for Chris Pratt
The actor-director duo have become really close friends working together. In many instances, the duo has shared humorous tales of their time together. Their friendship is not limited to the fun stories, as the two have stood up for each other during their hard times as well.
Chris Pratt was embroiled in a controversy over following Hillsong Church, which is believed to have anti-LGBTQ views, back in 2022 after the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, in which he played a short role in the opening sequence.
Chris Pratt as Star-Lord
After the news of the church hit the internet, many fans questioned Marvel for still working with Pratt and even asked the studio to replace him as Star-Lord before the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The director of the movie, James Gunn, was quick to shoot down the enraged fans demanding a replacement. He replied to one of the tweets demanding Patrick Wilson, from The Conjuring franchise, to take over as Star-Lord. He stated,
“For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”
Though the tweet has now been deleted, it seems obvious the director was firm on keeping Chris Pratt in his franchise. The cast of Guardians of the Galaxy too, stood by the actor. Gunn claimed that if Pratt left, the entire cast along with the director would too.
Chris Pratt helped James Gunn come back to the MCU
The help and support from James Gunn was not a one-way thing, as the director, too has seen a fair share of controversy and unlike Pratt, he was fired. The director faced terrible repercussions of a series of old tweets that resurfaced online back in 2018. The said tweets were offensive as they hinted at r-pe and pedophilia.
The director, though, was invited back to the MCU to finish his trilogy and it was all thanks to Chris Pratt and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast. The actor wrote an open letter to Disney to rehire Gunn, with the help of Maria Shriver, and the rest of the cast signed the letter as well.
The approach managed to convince the studio and the fans are only glad that the director came back to work on his unfinished trilogy. The last movie that came out in May this year was a masterpiece. Vol. 3 earned $845.4 million over an estimated budget of $250 million.
Guardians of the Galaxy movies are streaming on Disney+.
Source: Variety
