A billboard advocating for the rehiring of James Gunn as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy series has been put up just miles away from Disneyland. The billboard reads "save the galaxy: James Gunn for vol.3," followed by a website: rehirejamesgunn.com.
James Gunn was fired from the series after directing the first two instalments of it for a series of tweets he posted almost ten years ago that were recently exposed on Twitter by a right-wing (to say the least) blogger and Star-Wars fan:
The tweets are unquestionably in bad taste, but many are wondering if he should get fired from his job for some bad jokes. The movement to get him rehired is helmed by, among others, a guy name Giuseppe Cincinnato, who said of the billboard: "Even if this wasn't going to cause Disney to see their mistake, we could at least show James Gunn how much support he has in his corner of the galaxy." The group raised $4700 and spent $4000 on the billboard which will be up until November 25th.
An excerpt from the rehire James Gunn campaign's website:
Gunn succeeded with the Guardians by drawing the team as a group of damaged misfits who must address their own scarred pasts to overcome conflict, and eventually bond into a family. They are arguably the most personal, auteur-driven films of the entire Marvel stable. Their powerful message resonated with many Guardians fans who identify as misfits themselves, fans who were touched deeply by the films' themes of hope, growth, and redemption.
Long before Gunn joined the Marvel team, he began his career writing schlocky, low budget horror films for Troma Entertainment, where he worked on films like Tromeo and Juliet. Troma's films, and the culture surrounding them, are steeped in shock humor, and so it should come as no surprise that Troma-era Gunn engaged in that sort of humor. During those years he shared a handful of particularly tasteless jokes on Twitter, which he later apologized for and removed. All of this happened before Gunn's relationship with Marvel began.
By all accounts, Gunn's behavior while working for Marvel was positive and productive. Outside the studio, Gunn continued to share his thoughts on Twitter, speaking out against what he saw as unjust political policies, in defense of persecuted minorities, and as a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement. His political statements, particularly those criticizing President Trump, often drew the ire of the internet's "alt-right" movement. In July 2018, a group of online trolls dug up some of Gunn's old, tasteless jokes, and used them to manufacture a viral outrage campaign, which they brought to Gunn's employers at Marvel's parent company Disney. Gunn was promptly fired by Disney Chairman Alan Horn, with barely any thought or discussion or investigation.
You can read the full text here.