It’s hard to imagine anyone other than James Gunn writing and directing the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but there was a time when we had to deal with that possibility. In July 2018, Disney and Marvel Studios dismissed Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after controversial tweets of his from almost a decade beforehand resurfaced, but by the following Match, it was announced that the filmmaker was brought back to the project. During the interim period though, actors Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldaña fought for Gunn to be brought back for the upcoming Marvel movie.
In a profile detailing James Gunn’s firing and subsequent rehiring, it was noted that the actors who bring Star-Lord and Gamora to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe met with Marvel Studios president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige, co-president Louis D’Esposito and then-head of production Victoria Alonso to persuade them to change their minds. Meanwhile, Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer, took a strong stance against the Mouse House on social media sharing his dissatisfaction with its decision, saying that it was “pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists.” Years later, Gunn summarized these different tactics to THR as follows:
Dave and Chris are so different in their approaches. Chris is like, ‘How do we do this methodically and take it one step at a time?’ Dave is like, ‘Fuck you.’
Regardless of which approach you side more with, there’s no question that the Guardians of the Galaxy actors care a lot about James Gunn and were keen on Disney changing its mind about taking him off the movie. Last month, the writer/director acknowledged that the Guardians cast “saved” him and brought him “back into the fold” during that difficult period. Chris Pratt also called out Disney for firing Gunn, and then attempting to still use his Vol. 3 script.
The good news is that while the public didn’t learn that James Gunn was back on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 until spring 2019, it didn’t take that long for Disney to change its mind about him. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn contacted Gunn in mid-2018, just one day after he’d already signed on to make The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. Pictures. As such, while Gunn obviously agreed to return for Vol. 3, its production needed to be delayed because he needed to make that DC movie first, with cameras finally rolling by November 2021.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 follows five months after the release of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (which is exclusively available to Disney+ subscribers), and while it’s possible some of the title heroes will continue appearing in MCU stories, this will be the last time we see this incarnation of the team all together. So it would have been unfortunate if James Gunn, the man who spearheaded these characters’ first two MCU adventures and even wrote some of their dialogue for Avengers: Infinity War, hadn’t been the one to conclude their story. Fortunately, that didn’t end up happening, and we can thank Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista and the other actors for playing their part in Disney overturning that decision.
Be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before you see it for yourself, with preview screenings starting tomorrow, May 4. Now that Vol. 3 is completed and promoted, James Gunn can turn his full attention to DC Studios, which he’s co-running with Peter Safra. Gunn is also directing and writing Superman: Legacy, which is due in theaters on July 11, 2025.
