By ELIZABETH LIU
Staff Writer
A little over a year ago, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans were heartbroken to hear that Disney let go of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” film series after director James Gunn was found that he was tweeted publicly against current President Donald Trump. However, according to multiple celebrity tabloids and other news outlets, these were not the only kind of tweets that he was known for publishing on the internet. According to sources such as the Polygon, it was stated that Gunn had also been known to “make jokes about pedophilia and child molestation.”
However, it should be noted that according to the tweets that were made public, the tweets that the tabloids are talking about were from a little over ten years ago, during the year of 2009.
Because of the fact that these tweets were still publically available on Twitter, these are the reasonings behind Gunn’s firing from the company. As Marvel was bought out by Disney a few years ago to this day, this may explain the required censorship for its employees and the reason why James Gunn was fired.
An example of one of the many tweets that were reported were the following: “I will give 100 thousand dollars to Trump’s favorite charity if he will step on an accurate scale with an impartial medical professional, okayed by the both of us. For real. #Girther #Girthermovement.”
The tweet above can be interpreted as one as saying that Trump needs a medical professional and is not capable of running the country, and this enseued many feelings of anger as well as resentment from the right of those who identify on the right on the political spectrum. It should be noted that Gunn actually publically apologized on Twitter on July 19.
On top of the political tweets, he made sexual references as well and was essentially accused of being a pedophile. However, despite this content, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that Gunn is set to direct “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” after it was cancelled after the Twitter scandal.
According to Gunn’s statement made public to ABC, he made the following public statement:
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” Gunn wrote, according to Theverge.com. “I have regretted them for many years since – not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time. Regardless of how much time has been passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today.” This tweet was made public in the July of the last year.
The incident of Disney firing Gunn led to a petition started by two main cast members for Disney as well as the Marvel company to reconsider their decision. Supposedly, the cast members also wrote a letter to Disney and Marvel board of directors in the petition. According to Theverge.com, the letter said the following:
“We fully support James Gunn,” the cast wrote, according to sources such as the Guardian and Theverge.com.
“We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss. In that time, we’ve been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3 as well as discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.”
According to Theverge.com, back in August of 2019, James Gunn met with Marvel Studios co-president Kevin Ferge to discuss details in regards to filming as well as directing projects “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” and “Suicide Squad 2.” “Suicide Squad 2” is a separate project from the Marvel Company as it is with another film producing company, Warner Brothers.
As of March 2019, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” is back in development for the original confirmed release date of 2020. At this time, the release date or any updates for the project have been changed.
While his Tweets should not have been posted to begin with, he has admittedly apologized to the public multiple times and has reassured the fans that he is no longer that type of person today. It seems as if Gunn is genuinely sorry for what was said and that he is cooperating with both Marvel and Disney for taking responsibility for what has happened. Marvel made an excellent decision when hiring Gunn for the franchise yet again, as the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise would not be where it is today.
