Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (First Trailer) (May 5, 2023)

James Gunn is exiting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The move comes after conservative personalities resurfaced old tweets in which the filmmaker joked about controversial topics such as pedophelia and rape. Gunn, who has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, has since deleted his Twitter account.

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

Before deleting his account, Gunn tweeted, "Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor."

The tweets came to light after conservative website The Daily Caller dug up the tweets, which were mostly posted in 2008 and 2009. Soon after, conservative personalities were tweeting to followers to confront Gunn at Comic-Con. Gunn had been expected to be at Sony's presentation Friday. It is still unclear if Gunn plans on appearing.

Gunn has been writing the script for Guardians 3, and the movie was expected to begin shooting in Atlanta in the fall for an expected 2020 release date, though Marvel Studios had never officially announced the date. The Guardians movies have been a massive success for Disney and Marvel. The first movie made more than $773 million worldwide while the second made $863 million. The films stood out from other Marvel movies as they were infused with Gunn's off-kilter filmmaking sensibilities that owed more to indie genre movies than slicker cookie cutter studio fare. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had previously indicated that Gunn would continue to work with Marvel after Guardians 3 helping shepherd the cosmic side of the studio's universe.

Tyger wrote:WTF

UltimateMarvel wrote:He makes a lot of kid jokes, gotta come from some place.

WyldeMan wrote:When I first read the article about the accusations I assumed it was a serious overreaction until you read the more the dozen "jokes" about raping kids. Pretty sure I've never made that joke once.

WyldeMan wrote:I'm curious to see if any actual allegations from real victims will emerge now that the story has begun or if he just has the most fucked up sense of humor possible and he's just the latest individual who tanked their own career because of some dumb shit they said on twitter. Gunn never came across as predatory to me but it's entirely possible since as I always say, just assume everybody in Hollywood is a rapist.

Guardians of the Galaxy franchise stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan are the latest to speak out amid the fallout from the firing of James Gunn as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In a rather cryptic tweet that did not mention Gunn by name or the controversy but believed by many fans to be directed at Gunn’s ouster, Pratt wrote, “’Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.’ JAMES 1:19.” The message was followed by prayer hands and a heart emoji.

Saldana was more direct in addressing the situation. “It’s been a challenging weekend I’m not gonna lie. I’m pausing myself to take everything in before I speak out of term,” she wrote. “I just want everyone to know I love ALL members of my GOTG family. Always will.”

Gillan wrote over two tweets, “Love to every single member of my GOTG family” followed by “Just to clarify, I’ll speak more on this later but just wanted to make sure that was out there. Love to you all.”

Pratt, Saldana and Gillan’s tweets followed messages of support over the weekend from Guardians’ star Sean Gunn, James Gunn’s brother and Dave Bautista. “It goes without saying that I love and support my brother,” Sean Gunn wrote. He also asserts that “working on these movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I’m proud of that.”

Meanwhile, a change.org petition to calling for the rehiring of the filmmaker continues to add thousands of signatures. As of this morning, more than 187,000 signatures had been obtained, moving quickly to its goal of 200,000.

James Gunn was fired Friday after Fox News and other right-wing media outlets unearthed some old social media posts from the filmmaker on subjects that touched on rape and pedophilia. Gunn claimed that the old tweets were just taboo jokes. Conservative media resurfaced Gunn’s old posts in an effort to knock him down since he’s an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

The tweets by Saldana, Pratt, Gillan and Sean Gunn follow below:

It’s been a challenging weekend I’m not gonna lie. I’m pausing myself to take everything in before I speak out of term. I just want everyone to know I love ALL members of my GOTG family. Always will.

— Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana) July 22, 2018

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
JAMES 1:19

— chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) July 22, 2018

Love to every single member of my GOTG family.
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) July 23, 2018

Just to clarify, I'll speak more on this later but just wanted to make sure that was out there. Love to you all.
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) July 23, 2018

1. I hope it goes without saying that I love and support my brother James. And I'm quite proud of how kind, generous, and compassionate he is with the people in his life, whether they are friends, family, colleagues, fans, or strangers.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

2. Since he was a kid, it was clear he had a desire (maybe destiny) to be an artist, tell stories, find his voice through comics, films, his band. The struggle to find that voice was sometimes clunky, misguided, or downright stupid, and sometimes wonderful, moving, and hilarious.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

3. Since devoting his entire life to the Guardians movies and MCU six years ago, I've seen him channel that voice into his work on those movies and seen him transform from the guy who made up things to shock people.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

4. I saw firsthand as he went from worrying about "softening his edge" for a larger audience to realizing that his "edge" wasn't as useful of a tool as he thought it was. That his gift for storytelling was something better.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

6. In many respects this change in my brother was reflected in the change that the Guardians go through. I've heard my brother say many times that when Quill rallies the team with "this is our chance to give a shit"–to care–that it's the pep talk he himself needed to hear.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

7. It's part of what made working on the Guardians movies such a rewarding experience for the cast, myself included. We managed to find ourselves involved in a big-budget superhero movie that was, at its core, deeply personal. That's a gift. And that's why it's good.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

8. This isn't new information, by the way. It's all stuff that James has explained many times in interviews, in more detail and more eloquently. It's not some new spin. It's always been part of the story.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

9. So I guess my hope is that fans continue to watch and appreciate the Guardians movies, not despite the fact that the filmmaker used to be kind of a jackass, but because of it. They are, after all, movies about discovering your best self.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

10. Working on those movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I'm proud of that. Peace.
— Sean Gunn (@seangunn) July 21, 2018

Rusty wrote:Disney is weak as piss. They knew the guy they hired was a weirdo, and how, in this day and age, do they not have people that spend their time checking old social media posts of potential employees and having them deleted.

Dave Bautista stated on Twitter that he’ll act in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 because he’s “legally obligated.” In a follow up interview with The Short List, he said he’d ask to be released from his contract if Marvel doesn’t use James Gunn‘s script.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Dude has gone loco. I would never turn down $ to support someone like Gunn. I still think there is some truths to those tweets. We can't know for sure what he's done but that's some dark shit. If some kid decides to come forward, this whole thing is going to be hilarious.

Tyger wrote:You’re not really familiar with comedians, are you?

UltimateMarvel wrote:

Tyger wrote:You’re not really familiar with comedians, are you?

I guess not. Do you know comedians who repeatedly joke about molesting/raping children?

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:

Tyger wrote:You’re not really familiar with comedians, are you?

I guess not. Do you know comedians who repeatedly joke about molesting/raping children?

Some comics tend to go for shock humor, they want to upset rooms because that's how they make their money. I've been to multiple Jim Jeffries shows and you would not believe the crowd reactions he gets. That Aussie knows how to piss off a room very quickly.

UltimateMarvel wrote:But not about this particular subject though, right? It's easy to find topics to get people ticked off, especially nowadays where everyone is so sensitive about everything. I love those moments though where half the people laugh and half doesn't. Then another joke will give you a vice versa reaction. In a way, it kinda makes people understand each other.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Yeah, I've seen some his gun control jokes before.

LOL! That's both creepy and funny, the faces he made also add to it. It's about Halloween though and not nearly as bad.

EXCLUSIVE: Redemption and second chances have long been superhero movie staples, and today it looks like life has imitated art. I’ve learned that Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and I’ve confirmed it with Marvel and Gunn’s camp.

The decision to rehire Gunn –he was fired last July by Disney after alt-right journalists made public a fusillade of decade old social media missives that made light of pedophilia and rape — was one that was mulled and actually made months ago, following conversations with Disney studio leadership and the team at Marvel Studios. Why the change of heart? After the firing, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met with Gunn on multiple occasions to discuss the situation. Persuaded by Gunn’s public apology and his handling of the situation after, Horn decided to reverse course and reinstate Gunn.

The social media messages were indefensible, but the filmmaker never did anything but blame himself for poor judgment displayed at a time when he was emerging from the Troma film factory and attempting to be a provocateur. There were no reports that Gunn ever engaged in the behavior he lampooned. Unlike the defensive posture exhibited by Kevin Hart that led him to skip hosting the Oscars, Gunn fell on his sword early and often and never lashed out at Disney.

Ultimately, Gunn’s missives were poorly chosen words and not actions, though Disney’s quick trigger was completely understandable when the social media messages were first reported by outlets like Fox News. Those outlets reported that Gunn’s missives were exposed as payback for Gunn being a vocal critic of President Donald Trump.

Gunn’s return to Guardians of the Galaxy 3 got complicated when he signed on to write and direct the Suicide Squad sequel for Warner Bros and DC. Marvel Studios has agreed to commence production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after Gunn completes Suicide Squad 2. Making the whole thing easier though was the fact that Marvel Studios never met with or considered any other director for Guardians of the Galaxy 3, despite speculation that Thor: Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi and Vice helmer Adam McKay were in the mix.

Marvel Studios has remained mum on all details concerning Guardians of the Galaxy 3, as the Kevin Feige-led division turned its focus toward Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Marvel this week set Destin Daniel Cretton to direct Shang-Chi.

Prior to his dismissal, Gunn had written a script which Marvel confirmed would be used for the third Guardians of the Galaxy installment. I expect Gunn to confirm all this as he supports the release of Brightburn, the David Yarovevsky-directed Elizabeth Banks-starrer that he produced and Sony releases May 24.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

There will be an inevitable chorus of those who will gripe about Gunn’s return, but creatively, Guardians will benefit from his return. The entire cast of the film was outspoken in its desire to have Gunn back, saying that those satiric tweets did not match his personal actions. The cast clearly loves him; Chris Pratt, Zoey Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Michael Rooker and Pom Klementieff all pleaded for Gunn’s return, in an open letter. The controversy shattered the camaraderie that the cast had with the filmmaker and put a strongly performing franchise in limbo. Marvel has done a great job allowing its filmmakers to inject their personalities into each franchise, and perhaps none has been as stamped by one filmmaker as Gunn on Guardians. The first two installments grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide, with the sequel outgrossing the first picture.

Soon after the announcement of Gunn’s firing, fans circulated a petition urging Disney to reconsider. On October 31, a fan crowdfunded billboard went up in Anaheim, CA to rehire Gunn.

Disney is days from closing its acquisition of the assets of Fox and while the company will always be family first, it is somehow reassuring that there is room for second chances, and for a good director to have a chance to overcome a colossally stupid mistake.

This was the apology Gunn delivered last July: “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.”

Tyger wrote:Fuck yes

Tyger wrote:What sucks is I know this will later be used as an example in a bad way

EXCLUSIVE: After teasing his appearance at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Adam Warlock looks ready to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the next installment of the hit franchise. Sources tell Deadline that Will Poulter has landed the role of Warlock in Marvel’s anticipated sequel. James Gunn is returning to direct, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige producing.

Like with any Marvel film, details behind the plot are being kept under lock and key. Production is expected to start in November.

The character was first teased in a post-credit scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when Ayesha, played by Elizabeth Debicki, unveils to her chambermaid the perfect Sovereign she has created to help destroy the Guardians once and for all. Ever since that scene, fans have waited patiently to see who would ultimately play that character, with their wishes now granted.

Sources say Gunn and execs began their lengthy search for the person would be playing Warlock at the end of August, with Poulter meeting along with several other actors for the coveted part. As it is common with any major Marvel property, execs and Gunn took their time with the role given how excited fans were when it was first teased. In the end, Poulter’s test was too good to pass up.

Best known for roles in The Revenant and Detroit, Poulter has been busy on the TV front, most recently appearing in the acclaimed Amazon miniseries The Underground Railroad. He next can be seen in Hulu’s limited series Dopesick.