James Gunn’s deserved return to the director’s seat for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been a surprise to most people. After his abrupt firing back in July 2018 for some tasteless decade-old tweets, there was a campaign to reinstate him. But even the most ardent supporters seemed to have accepted defeat after Gunn announced he’d be directing Warner Bros’ The Suicide Squad.
There was one particularly stalwart defender who stuck to his Gunn(s) though, never stopped declaring his support and who seems to have had advance wind of this news. I’m talking about Dave Bautista, of course, who said the following in an interview with EW last week to promote Stuber:
“His phone was ringing the day after with Marvel. He’s bouncing back, big time. In the next 6 to 8 months, next year, you’re gonna see James Gunn bounce back in a huge way, which is gonna be a huge statement and a real vindication.”
Bautista’s loyalty to Gunn has really done him credit in the eyes of many fans. From the second the director was fired, he began aggressively defending him, going so far as to badmouth Disney in public for their decision. This put him in stark contrast to some of his cast members. While they signed a letter of support for Gunn, he alone stood up and yelled that this was a gross injustice and he wouldn’t be complicit in it. By doing this, he intentionally jeopardized his own future career with the studio, which if you’re a working actor, is a big no-no.
He was still at it in this interview, too, saying:
“I think a lot of people who even made the decisions, they realized they made a harsh, rash decision that was probably not the best decision, he[James Gunn] feels that they’ve [Disney] done right by him, or as best as they could have.”
Full credit to Bautista for sticking by his friends through thick and thin. Since his appearance as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and his excellent turn in Blade Runner 2049, Bautista has impressed me as an actor. Now, over the last eight months, he’s impressed me as a man, too. What a guy, eh?