Uncovered tweets spell the end of James Gunn’s career with Marvel.
James Gunn will no longer direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3 after several controversial “joke” tweets from 2008 and 2009 were uncovered by a conservative website looking to discredit the director, who is a harsh critic of President Trump. The organization then proceeded to encourage audiences to confront Gunn about the tweets at his San Diego Comic-Con appearances (since then, the director has dropped out of the event.)
The tweets were indeed offensive and as such, we won’t be linking to them or discussing them in depth.
“The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” Disney chairperson Alan Horn said in an official statement.
The studio has not addressed whether or not this means Guardians 3 development will restart from scratch, as Gunn wrote the script for the project, which he was also slated to direct.
Gunn addressed the controversy in a series of new tweets:
1. Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo. As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
2. It’s not to say I’m better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
3. In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
4. For the record, when I made these shocking jokes, I wasn’t living them out. I know this is a weird statement to make, and seems obvious, but, still, here I am, saying it.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
5. Anyway, that’s the completely honest truth: I used to make a lot of offensive jokes. I don’t anymore. I don’t blame my past self for this, but I like myself more and feel like a more full human being and creator today. Love you to you all.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 20, 2018
This is not the first time Gunn’s old tweets have been brought to light on social media, though previously, Disney did not issue any sort of response.
This news came quickly and as such, Disney does not seem to have anyone slated to take over the film.
