Gunned Down Again

Last week was terrible for big news stories. It started with dozens of incredibly wealthy parents across The US effectively cheating the system and helping undeserving children get into prestigious universities. It then moved on to realizing that Amber Heard, Johnny Depp’s ex-wife, had abused Depp and not the other way around, turning three years of anti-Depp sentiment into reflexive guilt. Next, there was the news of violent protests in Gaza over Hamas’s rule, which was diverted to airstrikes against Tel Aviv. Finally, to top it all off, there was the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, where two mosques were infiltrated and 49, innocent Muslims were gunned-down by Livestreaming white supremacists.

I was about to call it in, when positive news surfaced hours before Shabbat. Initially, it seemed like a really bad, incredibly tone-deaf April Fool’s joke. But after realizing that April 1st wasn’t for several weeks, I verified it on Google. Sure enough, it was true: after months of protest, petitions and negotiations, James Gunn was back at Disney.

For those unaware, the short of it is that James Gunn, director and writer of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, was fired from Marvel last Summer over Tweets from 2012 in which he’d joked about pedophilia. I won’t reiterate my thoughts, but Gunn was quickly hired by Warner Bros. to work on Suicide Squad 2. Additionally, the whistle-blower on the whole situation, right-wing activist Mike Cernovich, was indicted following his connections to The Proud Boys. And now, after months of secret negotiations, Gunn himself has been hired back to complete the trilogy he’d started in 2014.

This ordeal was a mess, not gonna lie. But it did reveal something important: even though Gunn’s firing wasn’t the end of the world, it took a toll on Disney’s reputation. Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, was planning to stick by Alan Horn’s initial decision; after all, Gunn had written pretty inexcusable Tweets, even if they were 6 years old. Disney’s a family-friendly company with a certain image. Gunn’s Tweets, therefore, reflected really badly on them.

Unfortunately, the resulting effect of Gunn’s firing was worse than his Tweets. Because it made Disney look like they could be easily-fooled, and Cernovich knew this. Factor in that passionate Disney and Marvel fans were petitioning to have him back, and it was a PR disaster. It didn’t help that Disney still had people like James Woods under their payroll, people with real instances of pedophile behaviour under their belt.

Bringing Gunn back was the right move on Disney’s part. But I won’t act like this was entirely altruistic, or that it negates their original decision, however. Disney’s a company, and companies speak the language of money. Hiring Gunn back was purely financial, as they felt it was too risky to continue the Guardians of the Galaxy movies without him. If it were motivated by anything else, I’d be shocked.

The decision also feels reactionary to how Gunn’s career unfolded following his firing. It’d be one problem if Gunn had been fired and never did anything else. It’d be unfortunate, and frustrating, but that’d be the end of it. Yet James Gunn had proven himself while at Disney. He’d grown and matured as an artist, and companies like Warner Bros. saw what he could accomplish. Being hired by Disney’s competitor probably spooked them enough to hire him back, as they clearly didn’t want to lose potential money. That Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III was stalled, and several of its stars threatened to leave, didn’t help.

Essentially, Disney saw the writing on the wall, realized they’d made an error and reversed their decision. The question now is, “What’ll happen to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III?” We know the script is finished, and that Marvel had begun pre-production on the film, but the temporary shelving of the movie means that it’s behind schedule. Perhaps a delay is inevitable, but by how much remains uncertain. I’ve heard of a possible 2021 window, but that’s hearsay, so…

Anyway, I’m glad James Gunn’s back. I’m not gonna act like Gunn’s a martyr, he’s not, or even that he was my favourite director, I hate his work prior to the Guardians of the Galaxy films, but his voice was always welcomed in The MCU. Considering how “same-y” a lot of the movies in the mega-franchise are, to have two films with a unique tone that still fit into the grander picture is a welcomed change of pace. The MCU simply wouldn’t feel the same without them, thanks to Gunn’s style, and it’s nice to see him come back and finish the trilogy.

Does this exonerate him of his Tweets,? Not at all. For as much as I’m glad that he’s back, that doesn’t mean that he’s off-the-hook for joking about pedophilia in 2012. No one should be hand-waived of their pasts, and James Gunn’s no exception. That doesn’t mean he can’t grow and learn from his mistakes, but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored.

I do want to address the people who still think he deserves to stay fired, particularly among Cernovich supporters: why does this concern you? Is it because he’s outspoken on Donald Trump? Is it because you’re mad at Disney and Marvel for their success? Or is it because you don’t like Hollywood and want it to fail? I’m not sure the reasoning, but it feels petty either way. James Gunn made egregious mistakes, yes, but it’s no worse than some other people in Hollywood. If you’re willing to overlook the behaviour of those who are more disgusting than Gunn will ever be, then I’m sure you can forgive him.

Or you don’t have to, the choice is yours.