Approximately 10 months ago, writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and 2, James Gunn was fired by Disney following the discovery and circulation of old “comedic” tweets that revolved around rape and paedophilia. However, in March 2019, James Gunn was rehired by the House of Mouse to direct the next chapter in the Guardians of the Galaxy story. Upon his rehiring, Gunn broke his months-long silence on Twitter to express his gratitude in an earnest statement.
Now, for the first time since the whole debacle, Gunn has come out and expressed his emotions in a long chat with Deadline. Gunn mentioned that when the chairman of Walt Disney Studio, Alan Horn, invited him back to helm Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Gunn got “teary-eyed in his office.”
The acclaimed director also made it clear that he doesn’t blame anyone but himself and completely understands Disney’s initial decision to fire him.
“I don’t blame anyone. I feel and have felt bad for a while about some of the ways I spoke publicly; some of the jokes I made, some of the targets of my humour, just the unintentional consequences of not being more compassionate in what I’m putting out there. I know that people have been hurt by things that I’ve said, and that’s still my responsibility, that I wasn’t as compassionate as I should be in what I say. I feel bad for that and take full responsibility. Disney totally had the right to fire me. This wasn’t a free speech issue. I said something they didn’t like and they completely had the right to fire me. There was never any argument of that.”
Over the years, James Gunn has made it abundantly clear just how passionate he is about this franchise. The movies tell you as much. So, when he was asked about how he’d come to grips with the firing, Gunn likened it to his former marriage.
“I would hate to look back on the six years that my wife and I were together and think, Oh, what a waste of time. Instead, I think it was a time when I really grew a lot and we were really good to each other. There were some problems, and we just weren’t supposed to be married, but it was well worth living that six years with my ex. I wanted to feel that way about Disney. I didn’t want to look back and feel bitter, upset or angry. Of course all sorts of emotions are attached to it. But I just wanted to be comfortable saying goodbye and splitting up, and that’s where my head was at, even in the very early meeting we had, a week or two weeks after it all happened.”
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will begin production next year. It’s currently unclear when The Suicide Squad (also set to be written and helmed by Gunn) will start rolling. It was previously reported that production of GOTG3 will only commence after Gunn has wrapped The Suicide Squad.
