Dave Bautista Reacts to Disney's James Gunn Decision

Screen Rant

Dave Bautista Reacts to Disney Not Rehiring James Gunn For Guardians 3

Drax the Destroyer actor Dave Bautista reacts to Disney's decision to not rehire James Gunn as director for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Dave Bautista is now chiming in on The Walt Disney Studios' decision to not rehire James Gunn as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It's been quite a tumultuous month regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since it was announced that Disney's studio chief Alan Horn had let-go of the acclaimed filmmaker following the resurfacing of extensive old tweets of Gunn's, in which he made jokes about rape and pedophilia, among other despicable things, over the course of several years.

While it was an understandable decision on Disney's part, especially considering the current climate in the entertainment industry as well as the fact that the Mouse House prides itself on being a family-oriented company, the decision provoked Marvel fans. In response, hundreds of thousands of fans started campaigning online, imploring Disney to rehire Gunn, which they reportedly considered by meeting with the filmmaker recently. Ultimately, though, they decided not to rehire Gunn as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's director, something that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is reportedly okay with. But not everyone is on board with that.

In response to the news that Disney is maintaining their decision to seek a different director for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Dave Bautista sarcastically thanked the studio on Twitter, saying that they are truly "making America great again." What's more, his tweet itself was prompted by a recent Screen Rant article, which argues Disney's decision to not rehire James Gunn is a mistake for Marvel. Take a look:

While James Gunn will no longer be directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it seems that Disney and Marvel Studios still plan on using his script for the movie, which not only concludes the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy but also sets up the future of the MCU, particularly the studio's desire to dive into the cosmic side of the universe. However, that doesn't mean his entire draft will be used, seeing as the studio also plans on hiring another writer to polish up the screenplay, which may result in some tweaks to the story. But overall, it looks like Gunn should still be credited as a writer on the film. With that in mind, it's possible that Guardians 3 will still make its early 2019 production start date.

Now that Gunn is officially and completely out of the picture as director, Disney and Marvel Studios will need to start searching for another to filmmaker to take the helm of Guardians 3. Whoever does land the gig will, unfortunately, face a rather fractious fan base, some (if not many) of whom may boycott the film altogether to protest Disney's decision. Of course, there's also the question as to whether or not Bautista will remain on board. He's previously expressed the desire to leave the MCU if Gunn's script isn't used. While that's not exactly the case, it's still unclear what his plans are for Drax going forward, especially in light of this new reaction.