James Gunn Responds To Calls For MCU To Recast Chris Pratt

Director James Gunn responds to a fan on social media calling for Marvel to recast Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the MCU as a whole. Production for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been quietly progressing for a while now. But as Gunn and his team work on the threequel, there's a growing call on Twitter for Pratt to be replaced in the franchise as Star-Lord.

Pratt debuted as one of the original members of the cosmic team in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Before then, he was best known for playing Andy in the hit sitcom Parks and Recreation, but since joining the MCU, he has established himself as one of the big movie stars of his generation, spearheading the Jurassic World series. In terms of his Marvel Studios stint, Pratt has played Star-Lord several more times, including in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Now, he's slated to appear in both this year's Thor: Love and Thunder and 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Amid his confirmed return to the MCU, however, a tweet has gone viral demanding that Pratt be replaced as Star-Lord by Patrick Wilson for the remainder of the character's time in the franchise. The post caught Gunn's interest, and the filmmaker decided to respond to it with a stern answer. Firstly, he questions the basis of the request, and secondly, he makes it clear that any removal of Pratt would require completely recasting the Guardians team. Read his full post below:

Click Here To See The Original Post

It's no secret that the Guardians of the Galaxy team has gone through some difficult times in the last several years. In 2018, Gunn was fired by Disney after some particularly dark joke tweets were unearthed, even though he had long come out and apologized for them. This put the production of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in limbo, but the House of Mouse luckily walked back on their decision and rehired Gunn, but significantly delayed the film. Throughout the ordeal, Pratt and the rest of the cast stood by the filmmaker, and as ugly as things got, it's safe to say that the experience only strengthened their bond with each other. Given this, it's no surprise that Gunn is standing up for Pratt, especially since he believes that the hate is all uncalled for.

Aside from the reason behind this petition, it's safe to say that recasting Star-Lord isn't going to happen. While Marvel Studios has replaced actors before, Pratt has played the role multiple times already, so it's difficult to imagine anyone else portraying the part. Granted that Wilson does resemble him, per these side-by-side images, there are other factors that need to be considered when switching actors in high-profile roles. For example, Wilson is a major part of the DCEU as Aquaman's Orm. In any case, considering the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will end the original cosmic team's story, supporters of this campaign may not have to wait long for Pratt to leave the MCU behind.

More: Guardians Of The Galaxy 3's Best Surprise Cameos Were Setup In Vol. 1

Source: James Gunn/Twitter