Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and rest of Guardians of the Galaxy cast condemns James Gunn’s firing by Marvel
Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan and other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast have responded to the firing of director James Gunn off the Marvel movies.
The cast of the Guardians of the Galaxy films have reacted to the firing of director James Gunn over unearthed tweets in which he had joked about paedophilia and rape. Following Dave Bautista’s lead, the cast reacted was unanimous in support of the ousted director, however some were more forceful than others.
Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the films, was one of the first to make a statement on July 20. He wrote on Twitter, “I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this..@JamesGunn is one of the most loving,caring,good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. Im NOT ok with what’s happening to him.”
On Monday, he wrote, “What will you do when the #cybernazis attack you? Who will stand by you? Who will cowardly distance themselves from you? Who will punish you for horrible JOKES in the past instead of defending you for INSPIRING millions? MILLIONS!!! #Redemption #injustice @JamesGunn.”
Gunn’s tweets were unearthed by right-wing commentators who often found themselves at the receiving end of Gunn’s anti-Donald Trump, left-leaning Twitter.
Chris Pratt, who stars as Peter Quill in the movies, quoted a passage from the Bible. “‘Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.’ JAMES 1:19,” he wrote.
Karen Gillan and Zoe Saldana, who play feuding sisters Nebula and Gamora in the Marvel films, both said that they needed time to process the situation, but loved ‘every’ member of the GotG family.
Gunn’s brother Sean, who plays Kraglin, fired off a series of tweets in which he passionately defended his brother. “Working on those movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I’m proud of that. Peace,” he finished his tweet thread.
Meanwhile Michael Rooker, who is has been one of Gunn’s closest collaborators over the years, said that he was going off Twitter, “This account will be inactive after today. We’re very tired & upset over the ongoing BULLS**T... neither I nor my rep will use Twitter again. Twitter sucks and I want nothing to do with it.”
Gunn had recently completed a draft of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 script and was scheduled to direct it for a tentative 2020 release. Since taking over the franchise and helping make it one of the most critically and commercially successful Marvel series, Gunn had moved into a larger role in the MCU. He was credited as an executive producer on Avengers: Infinity War and even helped contribute to its script.
On Friday, Disney chief Alan Horn announced that the studio would sever ties with him. “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” Horn said in a statement.
In a statement, Gunn had said, “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. 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 passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then.”
A petition to re-hire Gunn has already accumulated over 50,000 signatures.
