In July of 2018, director James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after alt-right journalists unearthed offensive tweets written by the filmmaker between 2008 and 2012. While Disney’s decision was met with heavy backlash from fans and industry insiders alike, there were also those who said that the Mouse House made the right call. And now that the company has reinstated Gunn on directing duties, Disney now faces a fresh, albeit smaller wave of condemnation.
One such disapproving response comes from actor James Woods, whose Twitter feed has been a consistent source of conservative criticisms towards modern pop culture. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Videodrome star took to the platform to slam Captain Marvel, accusing Marvel Studios of hating its male audience. Last month, Woods offered similar remarks about The Walking Dead, referring to the show as an “all-chick zombie series” and an “estrogen fest.” Now the Oscar nominee has set his sights on Gunn’s return, tweeting the following accusation of hypocrisy:
“Oh, and is [Roseanne Barr] back on Roseanne, too? Oh, wait…”
As you may recall, ABC’s Roseanne was canceled after Barr compared Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett to an ape via Twitter last May.
Woods certainly isn’t the only one to take issue with Gunn’s return, but overall, the clear consensus is that Disney was right to reverse its decision. In the last couple of days, social media has seen an outpouring of messages welcoming the director back into fold, including several from Gunn’s MCU peers and collaborators.
In any case, it could still be a long wait before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 makes its way to theaters, but in the meantime, Gunn is currently at work on The Suicide Squad, which is set for release on August 6th, 2021.
