Last July, Disney fired James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy films.
The move came out of nowhere, and right after Gunn had finished the script for the third film in the Marvel series.
The reason? A series of tweets unearthed (stumbled upon after a deep search) that included crass jokes about pedophilia and rape.
They were bad attempts at humor by Gunn, who tried his hand at comedy long before he was a filmmaker. Still, I was left wondering what took so long for Disney to fire Gunn for tweets that were made years before the first Guardians film was released.
The highly opinionated Gunn had this to say when the firing occurred: "I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo," Gunn said.
Basically, he ran the same route as 95% of creatives: you break into the game trying to say something shocking, abrasive, and elicit a reaction. Gunn stopped doing that a long time ago. In the meantime, he made two big hits for Marvel.
Gunn was fired for a series of tweets, but they weren't the foul jokes about taboo subjects; they were most likely the shots he took at Donald Trump last year on Twitter.
Along with thousands of other people, Gunn had some choice words for the President, and found himself out of a job because of it.
It's not too hard to figure out. Sometimes, having an opinion is not cool with big companies. Stocks, shareholders, and big money can be moved around in unhealthy ways, like sharks going after one bloody spot in the ocean.
Disney made the right move in bringing Gunn back.
While his jokes shouldn't be condoned, he made those a long time ago and apologized repeatedly for them. Does that make him evil? No. Flawed? Yes.
He's as imperfect as the person sitting next to you and the many people who get into my car every night when I drive Uber. If everybody woke up tomorrow and didn't have their moral high horse to climb up on and shout about what's offending them, the world would be a better place.
Should he be fired for saying the current President is a buffoon? Nope.
Everybody is entitled to an opinion, and if Disney didn't like Gunn's government-related tweets, all they have to do is send an email or text to the guy and tell him to quiet down.
I am sure when other creatives dish out hot takes, a publicist or studio rep is able to silence them if needed for a film to open well. You slap him on the wrist; you don't fire him and cause a scene.
What Gunn did wasn't right or completely wrong, but simply not good for public relations at the moment, so Disney got rattled and fired him.
When the stars of the film, such as Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista, spoke up against Marvel for not standing by their guy, the grudge started to fall. Now that Captain Marvel has come out and done well and Avengers: Endgame is on the way, and the Disney shareholders meeting has taken place, they can let him back in.
Perhaps it was all a ruse, or maybe it was real drama.
Whatever the reason, reinstating him is the right move. Everybody says stupid things that they regret. It happens everywhere. In Hollywood and around the world.
You shouldn't lose your job for it, especially with all the vile things taking place around the world, and with high-powered people in the business. You forgive, forget, and move on.
The St. Louis native should be the only guy to finish up the Guardians trilogy.
No one else should be allowed to captain that ship. He was the first filmmaker to give Marvel movies a real sense of humor. He did exactly Taika Waititi, the director of Thor: Ragnarok, did, but before it was cool.
From the wickedly cool soundtracks to the hilarious self-deprecation to the heartfelt touch applied on top of the action, Gunn put his stamp on each film. It all felt personal due to his touch. This movie fan is glad he gets to finish what he started.
Sometimes, things take time. Months need to be eclipsed before the entire picture can be recognized, and cooler heads can prevail.
Our greatest weakness as human beings is overreacting to something that seems wrong, but probably isn't as bad as you think. It's the way of the world.
James Gunn tweeted out some bad jokes and made some brash political tweets as well. He told the world it was a bad idea and spent some time in the Marvel doghouse. While he was in there, he got support from a majority of Hollywood. It wasn't just friends and colleagues. Strangers from around the business voiced their support. Warner Brothers gave him the Suicide Squad sequel, a big endeavor being that it was a massive hit for the studio. When Disney got weak, others took a chance on Gunn.
Don't you think if Gunn really did something terrible, so many people wouldn't come out and support him when it was the perfect time to stand against him? Sometimes, the reaction can tell you more about the crime.
When I found out Disney put him back on the Marvel roster, I was surprised and thrilled. Someone coming out and admitting their reaction was wrong, especially big-time executives. Now that's something.
James Gunn is back, and all is right in the world of make-believe again.
