Earlier this weekend, the Marvel Cinematic Universe suffered a great loss. Director James Gunn, who was set to begin pre-production for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 later this year, was quickly fired from the project after nearly decade old tweets resurfaced. The decision by the Disney higher-ups was received as a divisive one, with many calling the old tweets outright disgusting and disturbing. The majority claim the jokes, which referenced pedophilia and rape, were made by a very different James Gunn than he his now.
Over the past few years the director has used his position of influence to fight for social equality, but after this week's events some are questioning whether he deserves that position at all.
It is no surprise that fans of the franchise are coming to his aid, joining Guadians' Dave Bautista in defending the director/writer. In addition, a petition set up yesterday titled "RE-HIRE JAMES GUNN" has racked up over 95,000 signatures.
Gunn had a vision and handle on the Guardians that no director or creative could match, making him very hard to replace. Furthermore, he was going to be responsible for expanding and overseeing the cosmic corner of the MCU following the threequel, a plan that will obviously shift significantly. Though it is unlikely that the petition will actually change Disney's mind, it will at least be comforting for the man who lost his franchise.
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