Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the ongoing Disney/James Gunn meetings.
It should come as no surprise that Disney is in the middle of negotiations regarding the departure of James Gunn. After his offensive tweets from almost a decade ago resurfaced, the “Guardians of the Galaxy” helmer was quickly fired from the upcoming threequel. And ever since then, the studio has been getting backlash from fans, members of the media, and perhaps most importantly, the cast of the film.
Now, it appears that all hope is not yet lost that the Mouse House could reverse its decision and bring Gunn back for ‘Guardians 3.’ This comes after reports of rival studios lining up to work with Gunn.
According to sources that spoke to Deadline, there seems to be a last-ditch, 11th-hour appeal from the folks at Marvel Studios for Disney to accept Gunn back. The report is quick to say this is not a sign of a clash or any strong-arming from Marvel against the mothership. Instead, the folks at Marvel are taking the temperature of the room, so to speak, and know that it may be in everyone’s best interest to rescind the dismissal and allow the director to work on the franchise he’s instrumental in bringing to life.
Perhaps Dave Bautista’s vocal displeasure with Disney has contributed to this new wrinkle in the story. The actor has been on the front lines of the #RehireJamesGunn movement, going so far as to say he’d walk away from the franchise if the studio didn’t use Gunn’s already-written script for ‘Vol 3.’ While the rest of the cast has been far less public with their feelings, they did all sign an open letter voicing their support of the ousted director, and endorsing the rehire, if Disney chose to go that route.
On the business side of things, Deadline also mentions that with star Chris Pratt’s schedule being as tight as it is, with ‘Guardians 3’ filming already scheduled for early 2019, the worry is that the film won’t be ready to go by then if there’s a changing of the guard. Marvel Studios has worked on a similar timeline before when Edgar Wright departed “Ant-Man” and Peyton Reed took over duties. However, that film was the start of the franchise and didn’t already have incredibly high expectations. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” on the other hand, is one of the flagship films for Marvel Studios moving forward and James Gunn has been the sole creative voice behind the scenes.
So, as we can plainly see, the discussions between Disney, Marvel Studios, and James Gunn are far from over, and no one is certain what will transpire.