Guardians of the Galaxy director, James Gunn, has opened up about being let go by Disney and Marvel Studios back in 2018. The filmmaker was removed from helming upcoming MCU threequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, after several controversial tweets by the filmmaker from way back in 2008-2012 were suddenly unearthed. Gunn has now revealed details of his conversations with Marvel boss Kevin Feige at the time.

"I called Kevin [Feige] the morning it was going on, and I said, 'Is this a big deal?' And he goes, 'I don't know.' That was a moment. I was like, 'You don't know?' I was surprised. Later he called me - he himself was in shock - and told me what the powers that be had decided."

Though Gunn was quick to acknowledge his past mistakes, this did not sway Disney, who ultimately decided to part ways with the hugely successful director.

"It was unbelievable. And for a day, it seemed like everything was gone. Everything was gone. I was going to have to sell my house. I was never going to be able to work again. That's what it felt like."

Despite Gunn's initial fears, he was in fact able to find work very quickly, with Warner Bros. giving him the job of relaunching one of their biggest DC properties, The Suicide Squad, which is due for release next month. After much discussion, Disney also decided to reinstate Gunn around a year after firing him, with the filmmaker now due to helm Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and complete the trilogy he started back in 2014. Though he has been pushed and pulled by the major studio, Gunn clearly holds no ill-will towards Disney or Marvel, nor does he feel that he has been a victim of so-called "cancel culture".

"It's such a bigger issue than that. Because cancel culture also is people like Harvey Weinstein, who should be canceled. People who have gotten canceled and then remain canceled - most of those people deserved that. The paparazzi are not just the people on the streets - they're the people combing Twitter for any past sins. All of that sucks. It's painful. But some of it is accountability. And that part of it is good. It's just about finding that balance."

Thankfully, comic book movie fans have a lot of James Gunn's unique vision to look forward to, with his next project, The Suicide Squadcentering on a mismatched crew of imprisoned convicts from Belle Reve penitentiary, who are sent as members of Task Force X to the South American island of Corto Maltese to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory which held political prisoners and conducted experiments. During the mission, they come into conflict with Starro, a giant, telepathic alien starfish.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 meanwhile will once again reunite the titular team of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff for what is likely to be the final Marvel outing under Gunn's direction.

The Suicide Squad is due to hit theaters on August 5th. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will begin filming in November 2021 and is scheduled to open on May 5th, 2023. This comes to us from The New York Times.