Marvel brings James Gunn back to helm Guardians of the Galaxy 3

What a ride it has been over the last year. Last summer, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was fired by Marvel from the third film after a history of nasty tweets were brought to light. The tweets joked heavily about pedophilia and other very tasteless topics, they were made long before Gunn helmed Guardians but it was enough to ruffle the feathers of people online.

Gunn left Twitter and went dark for several months until being tapped by DC to direct a sequel/soft-reboot to Suicide Squad. Since the fall, Gunn has been developing this almost spiritual successor to his beloved Guardians. Fans and many of James Gunn’s colleagues (including the entire Guardians cast) rallied behind him to be rehired by Marvel and Disney but ultimately, Disney wasn’t keen on budging.

Insiders suggest Marvel was game but Disney didn’t like the look of a person like that directing a movie under their very family-friendly nature. But, a new twist in the narrative has been revealed: during all this, Disney and James Gunn were negotiating to have him come back. According to Deadline, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met with James Gunn multiple times and was impressed by how he took ownership and responsibility for his actions. He didn’t make a fuss or throw Disney under the bus, it was relatively clean on his end.

Seeing how Gunn really had changed, the two parties came to an agreement to have James Gunn return to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after he finishes his obligations to The Suicide Squad. The decision was made months ago but has been kept under wraps, conveniently only being revealed just days before Disney’s acquisition of Fox is completed. Is there a connection between the two? It’s hard to say but it wouldn’t be shocking.

James Gunn broke his silence on Twitter today expressing his gratitude for both Disney and his supporters.

“I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months. I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be,” said Gunn. “I deeply appreciate Disney’s decision and I am excited to continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all. I have been, and continue to be incredibly humbled by your love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Love to you all.”

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has no release date but it does have a completed script. It’s unclear if there will be rewrites as the film was expected by around 2020/2021 and with James Gunn tied up with Suicide Squad, the film will likely face some sort of delay. Depending on how interconnected it is to the rest of the MCU, it could need rewrites to adjust to the timeline based on release schedules of other films.

Gunn is expected to do press for an upcoming horror film called Brightburn which hits at the end of May, we may get some answers then.