No matter what you may think about James Gunn’s recent dismissal from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” from the top brass at Disney, no one thinks that the director will have a hard time finding a new gig. And in a new report from THR, it appears that studios are lining up to work with him in the future…including Marvel Studios.
For those wondering why there has been radio silence from Gunn, Disney, Kevin Feige, and the other higher-ups involved in the situation, The Hollywood Reporter says that’s because all parties involved are involved in deep discussions about how to proceed. At the heart of the matter is Gunn’s contract for a third ‘Guardians’ film.
The report states that Gunn is expected to get a big payout from Disney over his firing, ranging from $7 million to $10 million, or even potentially higher. The source of this dispute is over the fact that the offensive tweets from the director happened well before he signed with Marvel Studios, which means he didn’t breach his contract.
Other results of any potential settlement would dictate how fast Gunn could move on to another project (most likely immediately), and whether or not Disney would be able to use the script that the filmmaker had worked on for the threequel prior to his departure.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new report is the list of potential suitors for the newly free agent filmmaker. THR reports that studios are lining up to offer projects to Gunn “including Warner Bros., which has its rival superhero movies via DC Entertainment, and high-profile and Oscar-winning producers.”
“I’d work with him in a heartbeat,” says an anonymous senior studio executive.
Another executive from a rival studio said that no offers can be made until Gunn is completely free from his Marvel Studios contract, which at this point looks to potentially take a little while.
Interestingly enough, even though Disney unceremoniously fired the filmmaker from ‘Guardians 3,’ multiple sources tell THR that there is still hope that Gunn could return to the Marvel Studios fold, if not to work on ‘Vol 3’ then to develop and direct a brand-new property. “An end-all verdict hasn’t been issued and conversations with Marvel are still ongoing,” says one source.
So, with all the rumors and speculation running rampant about Disney and Gunn, it appears that the only thing we know for sure is that the filmmaker won’t have trouble finding work and he’s looking at a pretty good payday for his troubles. The real question is whether or not Gunn’s days at Marvel are actually over.