Disney has rehired James Gunn to direct Guardians of the Galaxy 3, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, despite Gunn’s firing last year over a series of offensive tweets dug up by far-right provocateur Mike Cernovich. The decision to re-hire Gunn was “mulled and actually made months ago, following conversations with Disney studio leadership and the team at Marvel Studio,” according to Deadline. Gunn, a once avid Twitter user who hasn’t tweeted since being fired, sent out a message to fans thanking them for their continued support. The full message can be read below. Chairman Alan Horn issued a statement at the time of the original incident calling “the offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values,” at the time. Although the tweets were from nearly a decade ago, and had drawn criticism from other outlets in the past, Gunn issued a statement following their recirculation. The full statement can be read below: 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. 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. In the past, I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies. 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. 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. Still, Gunn’s departure was met with criticism by reporters, Hollywood insiders, and even those working within Marvel. Many critics pointed to the involvement of Cernovich — one of the most prominent figures behind promoting Pizzagate — as cause for concern. Gunn’s firing even led to the cast of the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films to sign a letter asking Marvel and Disney to reconsider the firing. “We fully support James Gunn,” the cast wrote. “We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss. In that time, we’ve been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3 as well as discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.” Horn reportedly met with Gunn and Marvel Studios co-president Kevin Feige to talk about possibly coming back in August, but nothing came of the meeting at the time. Since then, Gunn has agreed to helm Suicide Squad 2 for Warner Bros, set to be released next year. He’s one of the few directors who will have a hand in both Marvel and DC projects for two different studios. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is in development, but was pushed back from its original 2020 release date. There is no new release date at this time.<doc-sep>Disney James Gunn is back on Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Disney has reinstated the director after his high-profile firing from the Marvel movie last summer. Gunn was sacked after social media posts he'd made between 2008 and 2012 resurfaced and caused online outrage. News of Gunn's rehiring was first reported Friday by Deadline, and Gunn's representatives confirmed it. The movie was officially put on hold in October. "I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months," Gunn tweeted Friday. "I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be." The stars of the movie -- including Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord); Zoe Saldana (Gamora); and David Bautista, who plays Drax -- have all been vocal in saying they want Gunn back on the project. The stars signed an open letter urging the studio to bring Gunn back. Fan petitions also urged Disney to rehire him. Now playing: Watch this: Powerful women of the Marvel universe During the months Gunn spent away from the sequel, he signed on to write a Suicide Squad film for DC. He will stay on with the DC movie, too, with Deadline reporting that Marvel has agreed to let Gunn begin work on Guardians after he finishes Suicide Squad. And regardless of whether Gunn would've directed Guardians, Pratt said in February that the film would go forward using Gunn's script. The film was previously said to have a 2020 release date, but there's yet to be confirmation of when the movie will begin production or debut. CNET has reached out to Marvel for further comment. Read more about this on GameSpot and ET Online. CNET's Carrie Mihalcik contributed to this report. Originally published March 15, 11:12 a.m. PT. Updates, 11:25 a.m.: Adds confirmation from Gunn's reps; 12:23 p.m.: Includes comment from Gunn.<doc-sep>
Whenever Guardians of the Galaxy 3 happens, it will have James Gunn back at the helm. Deadline Hollywood has confirmed with Marvel that Gunn will return to direct the post- Avengers: Endgame sequel in a big reversal from his firing last year . If you're wondering what that distant rumbling sound is, it's probably just Dave Bautista celebrating. Marvel parent company Disney cut Gunn off after the alt-right Twitter crowd dug up some pretty vile attempts at humor (using pedophilia, rape, and so on as punchlines) from deep in Gunn's timeline and shoved them straight into the media spotlight. Gunn immediately apologized for the jokes, explaining them as the provacateurial posturing of a younger, dumber guy. Disney seemed unmoved by his mea culpas at the time even as members of the Guardians cast leaped to his defense - particularly Bautista, who threatened to leave his role as Drax the Destroyer if Disney refused to reconsider. That said, it still planned to use Gunn's script for the film. According to the report, Gunn met with Walt Disney Studios president Alan Horn several times to discuss the imbroglio; the private meetings and Gunn's public apologies were eventually enough to secure his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's still the awkward matter of Gunn directing Suicide Squad 2 in the rival DC Extended Universe, but it sounds like Disney will simply wait for him to finish there before starting production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3. It's far too early to speculate about what Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will be - spoiler alert if you still haven't seen Avengers: Infinity War - but Rocket is the only living Guardian for it to follow at this point. Presumably, that will all change after Avengers 4 happens. Is it too much to hope for a Guardians heavy post-credits scene, teasing the whole gang being back together?