It seems all but certain that Disney won’t rehire James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after his controversial firing, something which is a bigger and bigger mistake for Marvel.

Disney and Marvel’s decision to fire director James Gunn from the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was controversial from the start. While Gunn’s history of offensive tweets proved stomach churning for many, so did the bad faith way that they were exposed to the world. It’s less than a month since the story broke but in that time a lot has changed, and the magnitude of the problem has become increasingly difficult for Disney to ignore.

Related: Disney's Decision On James Gunn Will Define The MCU

Calls from fans, industry figures and cast members alike for Marvel to rehire Gunn have grown, but while rumors swirled that a U-turn could happen, the latest word suggests it’s highly unlikely. It’s not just a bad business mistake on the part of Marvel and Disney: it’s a potentially destructive precedent for one of the world’s most powerful entertainment corporations to set.

Why James Gunn’s Background Matters

James and Sean Gunn on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn got his start as a filmmaker working for Lloyd Kaufman’s infamous Troma Entertainment. The low-budget horror maestros specialize in over-the-top gore, crude humor, farcical satire and exceedingly bad taste. Some of Troma's more iconic movies include Killer Condom, Redneck Zombies, Cannibal! The Musical, and the Toxic Avenger series. Gunn made his industry debut writing the screenplay for Tromeo and Juliet and would later be the screenwriter of Zack Snyder’s reboot of Dawn of the Dead. His own directorial efforts were heavily Troma influenced, such as the intensely gross but deeply hilarious Slither, the bleak indie superhero tale Super, and his web-series, James Gunn’s PG Porn.

His work was full-on, close to the bone and decidedly not for mainstream audiences, which was what made his hiring to the family-friendly Marvel franchise so unexpected. At the very least, it meant an executive somewhere at Disney had to Google Tromeo and Juliet. They had to know of the kind of work he made, his personal sensibilities, and how fiercely oppositional they are to what Disney is best known for. Gunn’s esoteric sensibilities proved a major boon to Marvel and his freewheeling take on some of the series’ less popular characters helped elevate the franchise to new heights. This context matters because it’s something Disney and Marvel could not be unaware of when news broke of Gunn’s discomfiting history of offensive tweets.

Why Disney Fired (And Didn't Rehire) James Gunn

Gunn himself had made no bones about his crude sense of humor and had previously apologized for some of his more off-color remarks. That didn’t seem to matter when right-wing conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, partly in retaliation for Gunn’s anti-Trump views, dug through his Twitter history and posted the most offending jokes. Gunn once again apologized but it didn’t take long for Disney to take action, and they fired Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Almost immediately, the grassroots campaign #RehireJamesGunn exploded on social media. Fans called out the bad faith nature of Disney and Marvel siding with a noted conspiracy theorist whose agenda was specifically to take down someone he disagreed with. A concerted effort to “punish” someone for being vocally against Donald Trump had little to do with the content of the person’s tweets beyond the ability to use them as political ammo. This was a point made most strongly by Dave Bautista, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast member who has been the most vocal in his support of Gunn.

Related: Screen Rant's Thoughts On James Gunn's Firing

Other famous supporters followed, from Selma Blair to Patton Oswalt to Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland, along with various media outlets. On July 30th, the Guardians of the Galaxy cast released a joint statement through social media that expressed their support for Gunn. Bautista even confessed on social media that, while he would fulfill his contractual obligations with Disney to play Drax, his loyalty first and foremost remained with Gunn.

Throughout this controversy, talk continued over rumors that Disney would eventually rehire Gunn. Variety recently reported that Disney Chairman Alan Horn was standing by the studio's original decision to fire Gunn, with Marvel's Kevin Feige also supporting that choice. Gunn's script will reportedly still be used for the third film regardless of who directs it. No names have been discussed yet for Gunn’s replacements, although fans have theorized that Disney will stick to proven Marvel talents such as Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi or Doctor Strange’s Scott Derrickson.

Page 2: The Problems Not Rehiring James Gunn Creates For Disney And Marvel

James Gunn and Disney Castle

The Problems Created For Disney By Not Rehiring Gunn

The past few weeks have been a public relations nightmare for Disney, a company that is usually considered impervious to the image problems typical of a corporation of this stature. Marvel has been reasonably scandal-free for the past decade, which is no mean feat given its size, cost and the level of talent involved. Arguably, the biggest scandal to happen to the franchise up until Gunn’s firing was Edgar Wright walking away from directing Ant-Man, and even that was rumored to have been an amicable decision.

It’s completely understandable why Disney made the decision that they did. Not only are they a massive company, they’re the only studio in the business whose image is defined so heavily by their family-friendly appeal. Disney likes to keep a tight rein on their team and it would not do for one of their most familiar directors to have these black marks on his social media accounts. To put it simply, it would be a bad image for a family-friendly movie director to have pedophilia jokes under his name.

Related: Why Disney Isn't Rehiring James Gunn For Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Under typical circumstances, Gunn’s firing would not have been hugely controversial, although there still would have been vocal detractors. It was the context of his firing that remains so troubling. The bad faith tactics of reacting so quickly to a conspiracy theorist’s obvious agenda are what have angered so many. Cernovich wanted to hurt Gunn’s career and he knew the way to do it. Giving a victory to the alt-right on any matter is a bad idea, but for one of the biggest entities in film to do so was never going to end well for Disney.

The Problems Created For Marvel By Not Rehiring Gunn

James Gunn Marvel Studios Creative Freedom

For Marvel, who it appears wasn't instrumental in the firing but have stood by Disney, those same PR problems exist, possibly even more so given the acclaim and profits Gunn has given them over the years. To toss him aside so casually without a more thorough internal investigation or deeper consideration for the alt-right context seemed dismissive. Gunn is popular, both within Marvel Studios and with fans, and he has helped to shade the aesthetic and humor of the franchise well beyond its roots. Marvel has a history of director issues, but this one hits harder: for many fans, Gunn is the voice of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and to remove him from the series he made his own would be to rob those characters and that world of its identity.

From a purely creative point-of-view, Gunn’s absence will be sorely felt from the new phase of Marvel. On top of his Guardians work, Gunn was also on board at Marvel to act as a creative adviser for their upcoming cosmic expansion. Gunn was the first director to truly explore the franchise beyond Earth and that gave him the freedom to define it. With the next phase of the franchise delving deeper into the galaxy, particularly with the upcoming Captain Marvel, Gunn would have been a necessary voice in the creative team to ensure success. Without him on board, it seems inevitable that there will be changes.

Page 3: The Big Picture Impact Of Not Rehiring James Gunn

Gunn’s Firing Sets a Bad Precedent

The issues with Gunn’s firing extend far beyond Disney and Marvel. To see any studio yield to the demands of the alt-right is a disappointment but it also sets a dangerous precedent. We have already seen what happens when hate groups launch campaigns against the pop culture they deride. Disney has enough experience with this following the extensive abuse lobbied at Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and the film’s stars, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran. Tran’s departure from Instagram after an extended period of online bullying drew major headlines and a continuing discussion over fandom toxicity.

RELATED: Guardians of the Galaxy Contracts: How Many Films Do The Stars Have Left?

For the most part, Disney has stood by their team in the face of online hate. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, herself no stranger to online abuse, has vocally expressed support for Johnson, and the films’ cast condemned the bullies who attacked Tran. What happened with Gunn is not entirely comparable, but the same tactics were used. The agenda was set – hurt James Gunn – and the goal was achieved, in part because Disney did not understand what they were up against. They assumed good faith on behalf of those dragging up Gunn’s past, seemingly unaware of how an ongoing culture war has made it impossible for anyone to play by the old rules.

If Gunn Returns, It Will Still Be Messy For Disney

James Gunn with Adam Warlock Silver Surfer and Moon Knight

It does not seem all that impossible for Disney to bite the bullet and let James Gunn return to the Marvel fold, with the latest rumors suggesting he take on a new franchise. At this moment in time, this would probably be the best course of action, even if it totally glosses over the complex situation surrounding the firing. Ultimately, every option available to Disney will yield further PR problems: either they don't bring him back and deal with the next couple of years of questioning headlines and a cast who remain vocal in their support of Gunn, or they sheepishly fold him back into the team and deal with how bad their original decision was.

The latter is obviously preferable here, but this is still Disney, a company unused to screw-ups on this level, and the PR rollout they would need to ensure a smooth transition would be difficult. There’s a lot Disney and Marvel will need to do before they get this far. Social media training should become an absolute necessity for past and future members of the franchise, and the company will need to get political on some level to combat the alt-right problem. This is not exclusively a Disney problem: it’s arguable that no studio can remain 100% apolitical on any issue but particularly one like this.

Disney and Marvel have more to lose on the James Gunn matter than the mere creative input of a popular director. This is something that will affect them across multiple levels: relations with fans and their own cast members; the political implications; the loss of a defining talent in their franchise; and the possibility of losing said talent to another studio. There is nothing to stop Warner Bros. from snapping up Gunn for the DCEU, or from Blumhouse signing him to an exclusive contract for a new franchise of unique horror films. That kind of hiring would send a major message to Disney, Marvel and the rest of the industry, one that Disney in particular can’t afford to ignore.

Related: Who Should Replace James Gunn As Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Director?

It’s not too late for them to make amends, but having already a mistake this major, Disney will have more to contend with than just James Gunn.

Next: Guardians of the Galaxy 3: Every Update You Need To Know

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