GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Cast Openly Call on DISNEY to Re-Hire JAMES GUNN

Guardians of the Galaxy
Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Updated July 30, 2018: The principal cast of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy franchise have co-signed a joint open letter arguing for the re-instatement of James Gunn as writer/director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn was publicly "severed" by the Walt Disney Company as a result of renewed public attention into a series of offensive tweets Gunn made from 2009 to 2012.

The letter has been shared on social media by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Michael Rooker, and Vin Diesel. Though both signed the letter, neither Sean Gunn nor Bradley Cooper have shared the post on social media, with Cooper having no public social media accounts.

“Being in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has been a great honor in each of our lives,” reads an excerpt from the statement. “We cannot let this moment pass without expressing our love, support, and gratitude for James. We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together onset making Guardians 1 and 2. The character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing the remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart we all know, trust, and love. In casting each of us to help him tell the story of misfits who find redemption, he changed our lives forever. We believe the theme of redemption has never been more relevant than now.”

Here's a link to the statement in full, via Saldana's Twitter:

Gunn has said he completed the first draft of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's script prior to his exit.

 

Original Story: The principal cast of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy franchise - along with a few other celebrities - have spoken out following the Walt Disney Company's decision to sever all ties with writer/director James Gunn over a series of pedophiliac comments and perjorative statements about people who are transgender sent out on Twitter from 2009 to 2012, which he has recently described as "totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative."

 

 

 


Actor Sean Gunn, who is also James Gunn's brother, posted a series of tweets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


James Gunn himself made a statement about the situation, and shared it with Deadline.

“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since - not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time," Gunn wrote.

"Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.”

A Change.org petition for Disney to re-hire Gunn was launched following this weekend's news, and currently has over 175,000 digital signatures - including that of actor Selma Blair.


United States senator Ted Cruz has commented on the situation, commenting that if Gunn's tweets are true then it "needs to be prosecuted."

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