Update: James Gunn responds after Disney drops him from the MCU

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Update: James Gunn has now issued a response after Disney officially dropped him from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.

Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.

*Original article follows*

Here's a bit of news which I certainly didn't see coming. Disney has fired James Gunn as the director of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 after a series of offensive tweets were discovered which found the director joking about controversial topics as pedophilia and rape. In a statement, Disney chairman Alan Horn said, "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."

Dozens of tweets, which were mainly posted between 2008 and 2011, were unearthed and many called for fans to confront James Gunn at Comic-Con over the offensive tweets. Before Disney officially cut ties, Gunn took to Twitter to apologize and attempt to explain the situation Thursday night.

One of the offensive tweets read, "The best thing about being raped is when you’re done being raped and it’s like ‘whew this feels great, not being raped!" while another found the director joking, "I remember my first NAMBLA meeting. It was the first time I felt ok being who I am." James Gunn had been working on the script for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, which was expected to begin shooting early next year for a possible 2020 release. I'd imagine that might change as Disney attempts to figure out their next step and decide who should take over the franchise. The director was slated to make an appearance during Sony's Comic-Con panel today, but insiders are now saying that he will no longer be participating.

Previously, it was expected that James Gunn would be taking on a larger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had suggested that Gunn could held shape the cosmic side of the MCU. "I think James in particular has an amazing connection with these characters and with this cosmic world. So he, I think, could easily oversee additional stories beyond Vol. 3," said Feige. "And I think has them and just continues to come up with them, which is cool. All of our core writers and filmmakers know what we are doing in other places and help give input on the various projects."