In news that may be shocking to some, but not a surprise to others, James Gunn has been reinstated as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, as reported by Deadline. He was fired last July by Disney after some of his old tweets resurfaced that made jokes about rape and pedophilia. While it is clear he was making an attempt at sarcasm, those jokes were heinous and should never have been made, and Gunn accepted full responsibility for his actions. Now, it seems, Disney has had a change of heart. After Gunn publicly apologized and took responsibility and the fallout well, the studio decided to rethink their decision.
“The decision to rehire Gunn…was one that was mulled and actually made months ago” – Deadline
That’s the party line, anyway. But here’s some more context: After Gunn was fired from Disney who owns Marvel, he was approached by DC to helm Suicide Squad 2 for Warner Bros. Now, we’re willing to accept that there is room for redemption…but the timing is a little bit too suspicious. Marvel is even willing to wait for Gunn to finish wrapping Suicide Squad 2 before starting on Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. Guardians has long been Gunn’s franchise, and the cast even stood behind him when he was let go, so his return will likely be welcomed by them. But Marvel has a long history of kicking DC in the shins and stealing their thunder. What do you think? Is James Gunn’s redemption arc in the right spirit? Or does Marvel not want to lose a director to DC? You tell us…
