Sure, call it a comeback: Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, according to Deadline. The studio dismissed the director in July, after years-old joke tweets about pedophilia and rape were recirculated by far-right trolls online. Gunn apologized for the tweets, and the Guardians gang — Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Dave Bautista, and Sean Gunn — all sided with Gunn and said they believed he shouldn’t be fired over the tweets. Deadline reports that Walt Disney Studios president Alan Horn met with Gunn repeatedly to discuss the situation, and changed his mind based on “Gunn’s public apology and his handling of the situation after.”
After his Guardians firing, Gunn was hired to write and direct a new Suicide Squad. The third Guardians movie will start production after Gunn finishes work on Suicide Squad, according to Deadline. The new Squad movie, is due for release in August of 2021.
Update: James Gunn has shared his reaction to the news of his Disney re-employment.
