James Gunn has opened up about being re-hired by Marvel following his sacking from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise in 2018, with The President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige also weighing in on the saga. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy and Gunn shared their insight. According to the director, the decision to re-hire him came at the behest of then-Disney film chairman Alan Horn.

Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige

Feige, among all other people, did not want Gunn to be removed and they hated doing it. He was very happy about the re-hiring.

Why Was James Gunn Removed?

James Gunn was removed from the franchise amid backlash over historical bad-taste tweets. However, the cast of Guardians Of The Galaxy, including Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldaña, immediately rallied behind Gunn and lobbied for his return. Gunn had previously apologized for the tweets, which contained jokes about rape and pedophilia. However, they then resurfaced in what was widely reported to be an attempt to get him fired by right-wing social media users, who were unhappy with his negative comments about then-US president Donald Trump.

James Gunn
Director, James Gunn

In an interview, Kevin Feige stated that they never interviewed anyone to take Gunn’s place in his absence. The Marvel Boss said, “We didn’t even put a preliminary list together just because we couldn’t do it. We couldn’t stomach it.”. Even Horn regretted his decision and had problems sleeping over it. Gunn said, “It’s 100 percent because Alan Horn felt sick. He did it because he thought it was the right thing to do,”.

Suggested Article: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 Rotten Tomatoes Score: Marvel Fans Concerned For James Gunn’s Final MCU Movie

Kevin Feige On Re-Hiring James Gunn

When Feige was asked about how he felt about the re-hiring, he said,

“Well, I can’t speak for Alan, but I know he said he really, really … Alan is an amazing man, and is an amazing boss and an amazing mentor, and the MCU would not be what it is today had Bob Iger not hired him to run Walt Disney Studios when he did.”

Gunn repeatedly took responsibility for his words, which he called “stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped.”. Feige greeted Gunn’s official return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with euphoria.

Kevin Feige with James Gunn
Kevin Feige with James Gunn

Suggested Article: James Gunn’s Controversial Tweets That Nearly Ended His Career: Why Did Marvel Fire James Gunn?

The director’s Tweets that sparked outrage for years were decades old. Gunn had made offensive statements about r*pe, p*dophilia, and about people with AIDS. These Tweets were on sensitive topics and people criticized Gunn for joking about such topics in his Tweets in an offensive way.

James Gunn on the sets of Guardians Of The Galaxy
James Gunn on the sets of Guardians Of The Galaxy

Disney’s decision against Gunn came as a shock to many people in Hollywood. His career was ruined as a filmmaker after Disney parted ways from him. However, Gunn was welcomed back with happiness and respect. Feige has to run a whole production studio and he has to take some steps sometimes. But it goes without saying that All is well that ends well.

Suggested Article: James Gunn Makes Major Announcement About Henry Cavill Less Superman: Legacy

Source: Independent

Explore from around the WEB