James Gunn fired as 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' director

James Gunn will no longer direct "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" ater he was fired by Disney Studios as the filmmaker's controversial tweets on pedophilia and rape resurfaced. Actor Dave Bautista came to his defence.

The move to fire Gunn came after conservative personalities resurfaced old tweets in which the director, an outspoken critic of US President Donald Trump, had joked about the topics, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him," Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a statement.

Conservative website The Daily Caller dug up the social media posts, which were mostly posted in 2008 and 2009. Soon after, conservative personalities were tweeting to followers to confront Gunn at Comic-Con.

However, Gunn issued a statement saying he "regretted" the tweets in question and stressed that "they don't reflect the person I am today", reported The Hollywood Reporter.

"I understand and accept the business decisions taken today," Gunn added.

However, "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Bautista, tweeted: "I'm not okay with what's happening to him. I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this... James Gunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met.

"He's gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He's made mistakes. We all have. I'm not okay with what's happening to him."

Gunn had been writing the script for the third "Guardians of the Galaxy" film, and the movie was expected to begin shooting in Atlanta in the fall for an expected 2020 release date, though Marvel Studios had never officially announced the date.

--IANS

rb/vm