The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been on a serious hot streak, as every single installment in Phase Three has been a critical and financial success. The MCU also seems to be a hub for challenging directors, who are able to carve out a niche for themselves within the larger franchise. Chief among them is James Gunn, who brought the first two massively successful Guardians of the Galaxy movies to the shared universe. But the entire property is in jeopardy now, as Gunn was fired from Disney and Marvel after insensitive Tweets from years ago resurfaced. This decision has split the fandom, but Drax himself, actor Dave Bautista, has been one of the most vocal figures in support of his director. Bautista has only continued this in the days since the news, as he posted on social media:
Drax is not fooling around, which means we may have plenty more of these posts before long. The future of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is very much up in the air, and Dave Bautista has taken umbrage with James Gunn's unceremonious departure from the property he introduced to audiences.
Dave Bautista's recent Tweet is the just the latest social media response the wrestler turned actor has had over James Gunn's firing from Disney. Gunn's vision is largely responsible for Bautista's mainstream success, as he's been hired for a variety of other movies since debuting as Drax back in 2014. Bautista has been seen in projects like Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, and the upcoming Hotel Artemis, likely due to the fandom he's accrued in the MCU. The original cast of Guardians were set to complete their story with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, although now its unclear if/when/how that might happen.
James Gunn's departure from the MCU comes at a particularly bad time, considering the current state of the development process. Gunn recently revealed that he had completed Vol. 3's script, claiming he put all of his heart and soul into the project. The threequel was also set to be one of the first MCU installment after Avengers 4, with a release date sometime in 2020. Gunn's departure likely throws a wrench into these plans, so we'll just have to sit and wait until Marvel makes some type of announcement for Guardians' future.
Trying to find another director/writer to work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is going to be a tough task, but the fandom has already put a few names forward. The most popular choice is Thor: Ragnarok's Taika Waititi. Waititi flipped the Thor franchise on its head with his blockbuster, putting the God of Thunder and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk in an intergalactic adventure. The director's sense of humor is just twisted enough to lend itself to the motley crew of Guardians, and he's already won over both casual and hardcore fans.
The next installment in the MCU is Captain Marvel on March 8th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
