In a move sure to send shockwaves through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney has fired James Gunn from Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3. The move comes after several offensive joke tweets from earlier in the writer/director's career surfaced online.
"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsitent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him," said Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn in a statement. The tweets included jokes about pedophilia and rape.
Gunn later issued a statement: “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."
He'd recently finished writing the script for the third instalment of the Guardians movies, with shooting scheduled for autumn and a 2020 release slot pencilled in. Gunn was also involved with helping to plan the future of Marvel's cosmic stories and the direction of the MCU in general. And outside the MCU, he was aiming to unveil a new look at the latest film he's produced at the San Diego Comic-Con, though that appearance is also now in doubt.
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