It’s been over two weeks now since James Gunn’s shock firing from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise due to the resurfacing of some obscene tweets he shared several years ago, and stars of the Marvel series keep coming forward in his defense. Now, the latest to show their support is David Hasselhoff, who took to Twitter to tell the world that he stands behind the director.
Hasselhoff, who showed up in both Vol. 2 as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy: Inferno music video, hopped on the social media platform the other day to wish Gunn a Happy Birthday and in the process, made it clear that he’s on James’ side in the ongoing debacle between him and Disney.
Happy birthday James! You made a difference in my life and millions of others – I stand behind you, your friend Zardu.
Of course, the actor’s comments here follow on from a joint statement from the combined central cast of the Guardians movies, which made it clear that they supported Gunn and wish for him to return to complete the trilogy. And though a petition calling for his reinstatement is currently on its way to accruing 400,000 signatures, it doesn’t look like Disney’s going to go back on their decision.
From what we understand, the studio’s currently looking for new directors to helm Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Some reports say they’re eyeing non-MCU filmmakers while other sources have put forth names like Taika Waititi and Jon Favreau. Whoever ends up taking the job, we certainly don’t envy them and as unfortunate as it is, Star-Lord and co.’s third solo outing will now be unable to avoid a storm of controversy as it continues to inch closer and closer to production.