In July of 2018, director James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for provocative tweets posted prior to his involvement with Disney. After sharing a five-tweet statement apologizing for his remarks, the filmmaker withdrew from social media, and wasn’t seen on Twitter for almost eight months. In that same span of time, fans and former Gunn collaborators alike railed against Disney’s decision to dismiss the director, before the backlash eventually died down, and most people came to begrudgingly accept that Vol. 3 would have a different talent at the helm.
Of course, that all changed today when Deadline broke the news that Gunn had been reinstated as director of the third Guardians. And with a return to the MCU apparently comes a return to Twitter, as Gunn has now shared a statement thanking Disney and all those who’ve supported him:
“I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months. I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be. I deeply appreciate Disney’s decision and I am excited to continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all. I have been, and continue to be incredibly humbled by your love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Love to you all.”
No doubt most Marvel fans will be glad to have him back on board, though Gunn’s period of exile has likely proved to be a major setback for Vol. 3. While the film previously looked to be headed for a May 2020 release, that slot has now seemingly been lost to Black Widow, with The Eternals expected to be the MCU’s only other cinematic release next year.
On top of that, after Gunn was dismissed from Marvel, he quickly managed to find new work as writer and director of The Suicide Squad. It’s now expected that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 won’t go into production until after Gunn is finished with his DC movie, and seeing how the Suicide Squad sequel isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until August 6th, 2021, we could be in for a long wait. In the meantime, we’ll be seeing the Guardians make their own return to the MCU when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.
