Free Republic

Redemption and second chances have long been superhero movie staples, and today it looks like life has imitated art. I’ve learned that Disney has reinstated James Gunn as the writer-director of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and I’ve confirmed it with Marvel and Gunn’s camp. The decision to rehire Gunn –he was fired last July by Disney after alt-right journalists made public a fusillade of decade old social media missives that made light of pedophilia and rape — was one that was mulled and actually made months ago, following conversations with Disney studio leadership and the team at Marvel Studios....

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. Representatives for Bautista also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Disney fired Gunn in July after offensive old tweets were resurfaced as part of a campaign against Gunn spearheaded by right wing media personality Mike Cernovich. Gunn, who previously apologized for those tweets in 2012, wrote in a statement that he understood and accepted Disney's decision. Bautista, who plays Drax in the "Guardians" movies and "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers 4," has been one of Gunn's most outspoken defenders, calling the effort that got him...

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast have signed an open letter supporting fired director James Gunn. Wrote Pratt, who shared the letter on his Instagram account, “Although I don’t support James Gunn’s inappropriate jokes from years ago, he is a good man. I’d personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3. If you please, read the following statement- signed by our entire cast.”

James Gunn, the writer-director of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, apologized late Thursday after a series of old (now deleted) tweets resurfaced in which the filmmaker made what he admitted were “offensive” jokes about taboo topics like rape and pedophilia. “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,” Gunn wrote in a series of tweets. “As I have discussed publicly many times, as I’ve developed as a person, so has my work and my humor.” Gunn, who apparently deactivated his...