It’s said “when one door closes, another opens,” which may mean that Disney firing James Gunn could be a blessing in disguise for fans and rival movie studios, including Warner Bros.
Last month saw Disney fire James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Marvel Studios over tweets that resurfaced from ten years ago joking about rape and pedophilia; the resurfacing of the tweets was a result of Gunn’s political views on Twitter.
While it has been reported that Disney will never rehire James Gunn ever again, now it’s said various movie studios and top producers would work with the director.
“I’d work with him in a heartbeat,” one senior executive at a rival studio told THR.
Another producer noted they can’t presently speak with James Gunn until his exit from Disney is complete.
“I’ve been advised that we can’t bring anything to him until the Disney matter is 100 percent resolved,” another studio executive said, with the article noting some of the “major players” include Warner Bros, home of the DC brand of super hero movies.
James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies spawned a multi-billion dollar franchise at Disney.
It’s also noted that any studios hiring James Gunn would bring about controversy, but it’s thought a “cooling off” period would help to get past the negative feelings; in addition, there is a lot of celebrity and fan support for Gunn, and the other studios are not held up to “Disney” standards.
Regarding James Gunn leaving Disney, according to the article, multiple sources state that Gunn is “locked in complicated negotiations with Disney over his exit settlement.”
It’s also said the offensive tweets did not breach his contract because they were sent years prior to signing with Disney’s Marvel Studios. James Gunn also doesn’t appear to be getting paid in full for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 as he is not eligble for “pay or play” as the movie hasn’t officially been green lit (no release date announced) and it isn’t eight weeks prior to the start of production (filming was to begin February 2019).
It is said James Gunn could still see a payout of $7 million to $10 million, if not higher, with it also said: “more importantly, he would be free to take on another project immediately.”
The report also makes mention that affecting the negotiations is that Disney still plans on using James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy 3 script, something Dave Bautista recently touched upon when he threatened to quit if they didn’t use it.
While a separate report has said Disney will not rehire James Gunn, according to THR, there is still a chance Gunn could get back with Marvel as the article says two sources offer Gunn could return in some fashion, such as to direct another Marvel movie and that “an end-all verdict hasn’t been issued and conversations with Marvel are still ongoing.”
