James Gunn is at a high right now with the upcoming release of The Suicide Squad and the imminent production start date for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn is in a unique position to be helming a DC and Marvel film but there was a time when he almost lost it all. Thanks to a series of questionable tweets being unearthed, Gunn was fired by Marvel in 2018. Gunn had the support of his Guardians cast and many fans around the world but Gunn suffered through the consequences of cancel culture before getting the DC job to helm The Suicide Squad and then ultimately being invited back into the Marvel universe to direct the third Guardians installment. Now that Gunn is making the rounds to promote The Suicide Squad and some time has been removed, the director is giving more details about his firing and how it affected him at the time.
In a new interview with "The New York Times", Gunn revealed that it was Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige that had to deliver the news that he was being let go. Gunn then detailed the conversation he had with Feige after he rang up the Marvel head-honcho:
"I called Kevin the morning it was going on, and I said, 'Is this a big deal?' And he goes, 'I don't know.' That was a moment. I was like, 'You don't know?' I was surprised. Later he called me, he himself was in shock, and told me what the powers that be had decided."
After he heard the news, Gunn went through all the motions we wall would likely go through after losing a high-profile job such as his. Gunn, believing his entire career was over, said, "It was unbelievable. And for a day, it seemed like everything was gone. Everything was gone. I was going to have to sell my house. I was never going to be able to work again. That's what it felt like."
Gunn's firing from Marvel in 2018 came after a number of his old tweets resurfaced in which the director made jokes about pedophilia and rape. Gunn released a statement the day of his firing that read, "I understand and accept the business decisions take today." He also said that he "regretted" the words in the tweets "because they don't reflect the person I am today or have been for some time."
It became clear that those who worked closely with Gunn also believed those tweets didn't reflect the man he was at the time of his firing. The Guardians cast among many others came out in support of Gunn, with the cast even penning a letter advocating for his reinstatement. When speaking of the support he received, Gunn said, "I felt really fulfilled and loved in a way that I had never felt in my entire life."
James Gunn became a bit of an anomaly because, unlike most, he came out ahead of cancel culture. Soon after his firing, there were whispers that other studios were courting him for projects since he was no longer employed by Marvel. Most of these reports sounded like wishful thinking rumors but soon it was revealed that Gunn would direct DC's The Suicide Squad. Getting that project essentially saved Gunn's career and somewhere in that timeline, Marvel came calling back to get Gunn back into the fold. It was agreed that Gunn would make The Suicide Squad first and then he'd go into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn went from feeling like he was about to lose everything to suddenly gaining it all. Gunn was asked in the interview if he felt like he was a victim of cancel culture at the time and here is what he had to say:
"It's such a bigger issue than that. Because cancel culture also is people like Harvey Weinstein, who should be canceled. People who have gotten canceled and then remain canceled, most of those people deserve that. The paparazzi are not just the people on the streets, they're the people combing Twitter for any past sins. All of that sucks. It's painful. But some of it is accountability. And that part of it is good. It's just about finding that balance."
I was one of the people that thought Gunn didn't deserve to be fired and was thrilled when he picked up The Suicide Squad and was ultimately rehired by Marvel. Were his tweets in poor taste? Most definitely, but, it was clear he was in a much different place in 2018 compared to when those tweets went out and we are all guilty of sticking our foot in our mouths. Your past doesn't always need to define you and your present. You can learn from it and be better and that is what James Gunn did.
What are YOUR thoughts on what went on with James Gunn and Marvel?