On March 15, 2019, Deadline reported that James Gunn, writer and director of both Guardians of the Galaxy films for Marvel Studios, was rehired by the Walt Disney Company after being fired over offensive tweets made from 2008-2012. He is reportedly once again set to direct Guardians Vol. 3.
What Happened
Gunn was fired by Disney nearly nine months ago on July 20, 2018. The offensive tweets that set off the chain of events leading to Gunn being dismissed were dredged up by far-right media personalities in an attempt to troll Gunn, an open critic of President Trump. When the tweets (which include crude jokes on topics such as rape and pedophilia) made by Gunn were unearthed, he gave formal apology on Twitter (click here for our initial reporting on this topic).
With Gunn no longer working for Disney and thus Marvel Studios, Guardians Vol.3 lost its director, and the film was indefinitely delayed.
In the months that followed, members of the media, the cast of the Guardians films, and countless fans called for Gunn to be rehired. These efforts seemed fruitless though when last October it was reported that Gunn would write (and later direct) the next Suicide Squad film for Warner Bros. and DC, potentially indicating his ties with Disney had been severed.
The Details
This was not the case, however. Deadline’s article details that post-firing, Gunn had met with Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn, who was responsible for firing Gunn, on multiple occasions. Because of his apology and the handling of the situation, Horn decided to reinstate Gunn.
This decision was apparently made months ago, and more so, Marvel Studios never met with any of directors to replace Gunn for Guardians Vol. 3.
Following Deadline’s report, Gunn tweeted out a thank you to everyone who supported him over the last few months, and Disney for bringing him back on.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2019
“What? We some kind of..The Suicide Squad?”
Although Gunn will (once again) direct Guardians Vol. 3, he has to make another film first. Following the reveal that Gunn will write the new Suicide Squad movie for DC, it was announced in January that Gunn will also direct the film. This means Gunn will be making The Suicide Squad before he can return to the MCU.
That’s right, THE Suicide Squad. Following initial reports that this film would be a sequel to 2016’s critically panned/my personal nightmare Suicide Squad, it now looks like Gunn’s movie will have little to do with that film.
On March 16 in an interview with JoBlo, Peter Safran, producer of DC’s upcoming SHAZAM!, revealed that the new Suicide Squad film is actually a “total reboot” of the series, and is currently titled The Suicide Squad. We are not making this up.
“I think people should be extremely excited about it,” said Safran. “It’s everything you would hope from a James Gunn script and I think that says a lot and that promises a lot and I know that we will deliver a lot.”
The Future
Production for The Suicide Squad will most likely begin before the end of the year, as the film is currently slotted for an August 2021 release date. That means it won’t be until then that production on Guardians Vol. 3 can begin (even though the script has been written), thus making its release years from now, probably 2023 at the earliest.
…
When I covered Gunn being fired last July, it was the hardest topic I ever covered for this site. I was angry, I was extremely upset, and for some time afterwards, I still was. While difficult, the last eight months have been a saga of redemption, and much like a major theme of the Guardians films, understanding. What Gunn said in those tweets wasn’t ok, but he apologized, and eventually, he was forgiven.
This complicated, but very simple act embodies why, like countless others, the Guardians mean the world to me. The characters and heart Gunn has crafted through these films is immeasurable, but ultimately of human design. We make mistakes, we learn from them, we become better.
And if nothing else,
We are Groot.
