(UTV|COLOMBO) – Walt Disney Pictures is currently in the middle of negotiations regarding the departure of James Gunn from the “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” franchise.
When offensive joke tweets from almost a decade ago resurfaced last month via a conservative blog, Disney quickly fired him on the spot. Now though they’re sorting out the mess of that decision including the likely millions to be paid to Gunn because the studio broke its contract.
On top of which they’re dealing with a minor PR disaster as fans, the media and the film’s cast have all hit back at Disney for the decision. Yesterday came word that multiple studios are lining up to hire Gunn for their projects and that Marvel Studios wants him back for another project despite Disney’s decision.
Today, Deadline reports that there’s a last-ditch, 11th-hour appeal from the folks at Marvel Studios for Disney to accept Gunn back – knowing it’s in everyone’s best interest to reach a compromise and allow the director to work on the franchise he was not just the key to crafting but was really the sole creative voice of.
Scheduling is reportedly proving a motivator as well with an early 2019 shoot window and star Chris Pratt’s busy timetable, it’s likely the film won’t be ready if someone else takes over and has to get up to speed. Then there’s the issue of whoever takes over will be seen as taking on damaged or at the very least compromised goods – not to mention being saddled with immense pressure and fan backlash.
There is reportedly no clash or strong-arming, the push to rehire Gunn is reportedly a long shot with no guarantee of success or failure at this point.
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