James Gunn has given his first in-depth interview since being fired, then subsequently re-hired, by Disney.
The Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director was axed following a resurfacing of old, now-deleted tweets, and he now blames himself (and only himself) for the “unintentional consequences of not being more compassionate in what I’m putting out there.” Gunn told Deadline that he takes full responsibility for his comments, which includes jokes about rape and the Holocaust, and that “Disney totally had the right to fire me. This wasn’t a free speech issue. I said something they didn’t like and they completely had the right to fire me.”
Gunn, who agreed to direct The Suicide Squad during his “hiatus” from Marvel, confessed that the thing that made him the saddest about not being able to work on Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 was completing Rocket’s arc. “Rocket is me, he really is, even if that sounds narcissistic. Groot is like my dog. I love Groot in a completely different way. I relate to Rocket and I feel compassion for Rocket, but I also feel like his story has not been completed,” he said:
“He has an arc that started in the first movie, continued into the second and goes through Infinity War and Endgame, and then I was set to really finish that arc in Guardians 3. That was a big loss to me — not being able to finish that story — though I was comforted by the fact that they were still planning to use my script.” (Via)
When you don’t get to finish Rocket’s arc:
When you do get to finish Rocket’s arc:
(Yes, Gunn has seen A Star is Born, directed by the voice of Rocket, Bradley Cooper, and he called it “an incredible accomplishment” for a first-time director.)
As for The Suicide Squad, which comes out August 6, 2021, Gunn called it the most “fun” he’s had writing a script “since maybe Dawn of the Dead. That’s what this whole movie has been like.” You can read the rest of the interview here.
(Via Deadline)