Fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has a lot of supporters who want to see him return. The cast of Marvel's blockbuster franchise issued a statement to that fact, and the director's fans have been vocal about it, as well. We'd been led to believe there was a base of support for Gunn within Disney that was going to make one final effort to bring him back for Vol. 3. While Variety confirms an effort was definitely made, Disney is choosing to stand by their decision.
Gunn and his talent agency made a big push for him to be reinstated, but it doesn't look to be happening. A meeting took place between Gunn and Disney studio chairman Alan Horn, which apparently was "civil and professional" according to sources, but it was done simply as a courtesy to the filmmaker. As for Marvel's Kevin Feige, who was said to be in Gunn's corner on this issue, he was out of town and unable to attend but will stand by Disney's decision.
It does look as if Gunn's original script will be used, which should cut down on the chances of production being delayed any further. However, a new director will need to be found and it's expected whoever is named will want to "put a polish" on the script to give it their own flavor.
And maybe that's just going to be the end of it until a new director is hired for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.Certainly this has been one of the most volatile periods for a Marvel Studios machine that has been relatively stable and controversy-free over the last decade. The best thing for everybody might be to just let this go. That's where star Chris Pratt's head is at right now, telling the Associated Press...
“It’s not an easy time,” Pratt said. “We all love James and he’s a good friend of ours, but we also really love playing the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a complicated situation for everybody. And you know, we just want to move forward and do what’s right and be the best people we can be.”
