The case of director James Gunn and his fortunes with the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise has been a trying one for fans. Those who have attached to the movies have been thrilled with the work of Gunn, but last summer decade-old tweets of him making off-color comments surfaced.
Many felt it was a controversy built on too old information that held little relevance today, but the family-aware studio got nervous and they sent Gunn packing. There was a backlash from fans, but little in the way of any new information has been delivered, and no replacement was ever announced.
Suddenly today Disney has let it be known that Gunn is in fact going to be at the helm of the third GoG installment.
According to insiders, Marvel/Disney had never undertaken a search for someone to replace the filmmaker for #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy3 and had gone back to James Gunn and made a deal…in secret https://t.co/kGYziny4Ee pic.twitter.com/40LU2fA1YY
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 15, 2019
According to THR — “What almost no one knew was that Marvel and Disney had never undertaken a search and had gone back to Gunn and made a deal…in secret, according to insiders.”
Only issue — with announcing that this was made in “secret” it becomes beyond curious, because Gunn had seemingly moved on. It was recently announced just weeks ago he would take over the reins of the DC property “Suicide Squad 2”.
James Gunn's 'Suicide Squad' reboot will reportedly use DC characters not in the original film, aside from Harley, Deadshot, and Amanda Waller. Rick Flag could potentially return as well
(via @Variety, @wgtc_site) pic.twitter.com/AOZEcQPqQw
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) March 7, 2019
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(No Jared Leto, as The Joker?! It’s already a better film!)
Before Gunn’s departure from Disney, there was a tentative date for “GoG 3” to be released in 2020. However it is now decided Disney will push that title back one year, allowing his recently made agreement for “SS 2” to stand.
This leads to some speculation. Given the timing of it all, the negotiations with Gunn must have very recently taken place, since he had become established at Warner Brothers. So a question: Could the Tucker Carlson response to his own controversy last weekend have led to this turnabout by Disney?
Look at the similarities. Gunn and Carlson were under fire due to decades old comments. Those comments had no real bearing on either of their current work, and there was a significant amount of support for both individuals. Tucker’s ability to face down the charges about his old quotes could have shown the studio that there is a limited risk to resisting these outcries.
Some have wondered the same.
Why do I have the nagging feeling that James Gunn owes Tucker a thank you???
Or at least a high five.
— Dennis (@dgsalem09) March 15, 2019
If we are offended by Tucker Carlson’s words shouldn’t we be offended by James Gunn’s? If we forgive James, shouldn’t we forgive Tucker? ??
— Jannette (@JCooper459) March 15, 2019
Hey @newsbusters, please see if the same people boycotting @TuckerCarlson will boycott this movie and all of its tied-in sponsors, you know, for intellectual consistency's sake
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) March 15, 2019
Huge shout out to Tucker Carlson for refusing to give up work when his old baggage showed up, leading to the reinstatement of James Gunn. #FridayFeeling
— Sarcastic George Reeves (@UWBio) March 15, 2019
That is the case. Both men had comments over 10 years ago that had no bearing on their current work. We saw the same take place with Kevin Hart, and his apologies fell on deaf ears and he was chased away from hosting the Oscars.
When you stand firm, and tell the mobs to go micturate up a bowline, you are in a much better position. Apologize, and the mobs regard that as an admission of guilt, and you are unlikely to be forgiven.
Now, as horrendous of a debacle that “Suicide Squad” became, I’m cautiously optimistic about the sequel.
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