Disney will not rehire James Gunn as Guardians 3 director

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Nearly a month has gone by since Disney fired director James Gunn from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3. In that time there has been a wave of support for Gunn, including from the cast, who penned a statement asking for the studio to reinstate him. However, even though many hoped all Disney needed was time to cool down, a new report from Variety reveals that the studio is indeed sticking with their call.

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The piece indicates that a meeting recently took place between Gunn and Disney chairman Alan Horn, reportedly with Gunn and his agents hoping the studio would give him a second chance. Despite the fact that the meeting was apparently “civil and professional,” Disney doesn’t seem to be budging and still has every intent to hire a new director to replace Gunn. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige was on vacation could not attend the meeting, but word is he supports Disney’s call. 

There's no word yet on who the studio has in mind to direct or if they will keep the proposed production start of January 2019, but word is that when Feige returns the search will be on to find Gunn's replacement. 

This all started last month when several alt-right trolls started spreading decade-old tweets the director posted in which he made “jokes” about rape, pedophilia and more. Though many have come to the defense of Gunn, claiming the tweets no longer reflect the man he is today and that the spreading of them was merely a smear campaign by internet agitators, Disney believes the material does not represent their squeaky-clean brand image.

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Since then actors like Dave Bautista have been vocal in their support of Gunn, with the primary cast of GUARDIANS posting a letter standing by him and asking for the studio to rehire him. Bautista went as far as to say he would ignore contractual obligations and leave the third film should Gunn’s script be tossed (sources say this won’t be the case), with Chris Pratt recently saying “it’s not an easy time” for everyone in the cast. 

So I guess all we can do is ask, "What now?" All we can do is speculate on where Marvel and Disney will go from here, such as who they will reach out to direct. This is an unenviable position for anyone who lands the job given the media storm around it. Though we don't know for certain if they will keep Gunn's script, at the very least any director who comes on will give it a polish. Maybe Marvel will go to someone they've worked with in the past, even if logical choices like Taika Waititi and the Russo Brothers may be out given their business with other projects.