In case you missed it, earlier today, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was dealt one helluva sockdolager when The Walt Disney Company fired filmmaker James Gunn, the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Now, as a result of his termination, Deadline is reporting that Gunn will not appear at San Diego Comic-Con.
Although Marvel won’t officially be participating in the “largest convention of its kind in the world,” the director of Slither confirmed late last week that he’d be attending SDCC to promote an upcoming horror release from Sony Pictures, of which he’s a producer.
Details are still emerging apropos of his expiry, but as far as we know, the House of Mouse decided to part ways with Gunn after social media comments made years ago resurfaced. The filmmaker had come under fire in recent days when Tweets referencing pedophilia and molestation came to light, and it grew to the point where it was problematic enough that Disney felt that some action needed to be taken.
In a statement issued by Walt Disney Studios, chairman Alan Horn called “the offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed…indefensible, and inconsistent with our studio’s values.”
Before deleting his account, Gunn published a series of Tweets which addressed his previous social media comments, saying: “Many people who have followed my career know when I started, I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo.”
You can read the remainder of his statement below:
“As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor. It’s not to say I’m better, but I am very, very different than I was a few years ago; today I try to root my work in love and connection and less in anger. My days saying something just because it’s shocking and trying to get a reaction are over.”
Because Gunn was believed to have completed the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, and said feature is scheduled to begin principal photography this fall in Atlanta – for a 2020 release, mind you – the firing could not have come at a worse time for the franchise. And as Marvel now scrambles to find a replacement, we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.