Disney/Marvel Won't Re-Hire Director James Gunn For Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 - Report

Fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met recently to discuss the possibility Gunn coming back for Vol. 3, but Disney isn't budging. That's according to a report from Variety, which described the sit-down as only a "courtesy meeting."

Sources told Variety that the meeting was "civil and professional," but Horn refused to bring Gunn back for the third movie. Gunn and his talent agency reportedly tried hard to get him back in the director's chair, but it won't happen.

Marvel president Kevin Feige was traveling on Tuesday when the meeting was held, according to sources, so he wasn't able to join. Feige reportedly is in agreement with Disney's decision to not re-hire Gunn.

The report goes on to claim that Disney and Marvel will look for a new director in the time ahead, though whether or not the movie's production schedule gets interrupted remains to be seen. Vol. 3 is pegged to start production in early 2019. The movie is expected to still use Gunn's script, though there are a lot of moving pieces and Disney has made no official statement yet.

Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, has said he will ask to be released from his contract if Marvel makes Vol. 3 without Gunn's script.

Bautista, as well as Guardians castmates Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Michael Rooker all signed a letter of support for James Gunn in the wake of his firing. The statement doesn't directly call for Gunn to be re-hired, but the actors collectively said, "Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again in the future. His story isn't over--not by a long shot."

"There is little due process in the court of public opinion. James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial," reads a line from the statement. "Given the growing political divide in this country, it's safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope Americans from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality."

Gunn was fired after some of his tweets from almost a decade ago surfaced in which he joked about rape and pedophilia.