Geeks logo

James Gunn Fired From 'Guardians Of The Galaxy 3'

Tweets from 2008, 2009 are "[Comments that] don't reflect the person I am today."

By Christina St-JeanPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Like
Source

James Gunn, the director who catapulted the Guardians of the Galaxy to our collective conscience, is out as director of the third instalment of the beloved #Marvel film franchise.

According to IGN, the controversial came to light and were discovered by conservative website The Daily Caller. A number of what IGN refers to as "conservative personalities" were circulating the tweets among its membership and were urging people to confront Gunn about his tweets at San Diego Comic Con.

For the uninitiated, San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) is a premier event for celebrities and film companies alike to promote their films and the stars. In recent years, Justice League, Wonder Woman, and certainly the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films would have seen their stars and their footage bow to enthusiastic audiences. In fact, Gunn teased that some footage from the third #GuardiansoftheGalaxy film would be presented at #SDCC, which started July 19, 2018.

Now, though, it would appear that #Marvel is sitting out this San Diego Comic Con, in spite of two Marvel projects - #Venom and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse respectively - expecting to be discussed during the #SonyPictures panel. With Gunn's dismissal, it would also seem that, at least for the time being, the fate of our favorite Guardians is even more up in the air than it was in the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War. Disney is probably looking for other options as far as the director's chair goes in the wake of Gunn's dismissal.

For his part, Gunn did not deny having written the controversial tweets - largely with rape and pedophilia as the subject matter. Instead, he explained that he was a much different person a decade ago than he is currently and was trying to be "shocking."

"Today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger," he explained in a series of tweets. "My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over."

Given the nature of the tweets, which will not be repeated here, that have resurfaced from Gunn's past, it should come as no surprise that Disney almost immediately moved to fire Gunn.

"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," Walt Disney chairman Alan Horn said in a statement.

It was a move that does not seem to have fazed Gunn. In fact, it appears as though Gunn has accepted his fate, in spite of having been the man in the director's chair for the last two instalments of Guardians Of The Galaxy and in spite of having enjoyed a busy work schedule as a producer, a writer, and a director consistently since 1997, according to IMdB.com.

"Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today," Gunn said in a statement. "Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then."

Certainly, Gunn's admission of having written these tweets is remarkable. In a world where those who are accused of inappropriate conduct have a tendency to try and sidestep their responsibility, Gunn is now stepping up and admitting that he did do something inappropriate. Further, while he is no doubt disappointed that he has been removed from the director's chair for Guardians Of The Galaxy vol. 3, he has admitted that he understands why Disney had to dismiss him. He didn't, at least on paper or on social media, denigrate the decisions made by Walt Disney Studios, which owns Marvel. He did not threaten any sort of legal action. He stepped up and said he screwed up and he understood and accepted why Disney had to fire him.

While presumably many of us are adults, sometimes, when we do something inappropriate, there are some who don't immediately want to take responsibility. Let's be honest - it's not fun when we're getting in trouble, and when you're an adult, the stakes are considerably higher than when you're a kid. While Gunn should never have written the decade-old tweets in the first place, he's at least taking responsibility - and accepting the consequences - for it. It's probably one of the few times in recent history we can remember someone in Hollywood making such a move.

Regardless of how anyone might feel about James Gunn or his work, his ownership of his past mistakes, his acceptance of the outcome, and his desire to keep growing and move forward are all traits to be admired.

industry
Like

About the Creator

Christina St-Jean

I'm a high school English and French teacher who trains in the martial arts and works towards continuous self-improvement.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.