Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Star "Thrilled" To Have James Gunn Back

James Gunn will return to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, completing the trilogy he's overseen from the beginning. Chris Pratt, the actor behind the lead character Star-Lord, recently said he's "thrilled" to have the director back.

"I was so thrilled, so excited," Pratt told People. "I think it's the right move, I really stand behind it. I'm really proud of Disney for hiring James back and ultimately thrilled for not only us, but also for the fans. I think it's going to wrap up the trilogy in the best way."

Shortly after Gunn was fired from the project in 2018 for controversial tweets made years prior, several celebrities came out to voice their support. Dave Bautista and Michael Rooker, who play Drax and Yondu, respectively, were especially vocal very quickly. Shortly after, though, the entire key cast of the Guardians series signed a collective letter of support to rehire Gunn. That included Pratt, Bautista, and Rooker, along with Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn.

The tone of the support was often that Gunn's old social media posts were inappropriate, but that he had learned and grown as a person since then. Pratt's latest comments reflect that attitude as well.

"Guardians of the Galaxy are really all about second chances and giving people an opportunity to be their best," he said. "We're a ragtag squad of people coming together and having each other's back. I think it really worked out the way it was supposed to, and I feel good about it."

Though Gunn had been fired from the project, Disney maintained that it was still going to use his script--perhaps in part because Bautista openly threatened to quit if it didn't. Before Gunn was brought back on, DC took the opportunity to make Marvel's loss their gain, tapping him to write and direct a Suicide Squad film. Though it was first understood to be a sequel, it's now said to be a total reboot.

Before Star-Lord and his squad of spacers can get back to guarding the galaxy, though, there's some unfinished business with Thanos to attend to. Almost the entire Guardians roster--Peter Quill, Groot, Drax, and Mantis--were dusted when Thanos enacted his plan to wipe out half the population in Infinity War. Since Gamora was killed in a much more personal fashion as well, that only leaves Rocket to help the Avengers in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. Check out our review for more (spoiler-free) thoughts on the blockbuster that will settle up Thanos' body count.