It’s hard to imagine anyone other than James Gunn writing and directing the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but there was a time when we had to deal with that possibility. In July 2018, Disney and Marvel Studios dismissed Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after controversial tweets of his from almost a decade beforehand resurfaced, but by the following Match, it was announced that the filmmaker was brought back to the project. During the interim period though, actors Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldaña fought for Gunn to be brought back for the upcoming Marvel movie.
In a profile detailing James Gunn’s firing and subsequent rehiring, it was noted that the actors who bring Star-Lord and Gamora to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe met with Marvel Studios president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige, co-president Louis D’Esposito and then-head of production Victoria Alonso to persuade them to change their minds. Meanwhile, Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer, took a strong stance against the Mouse House on social media sharing his dissatisfaction with its decision, saying that it was “pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists.” Years later, Gunn summarized these different tactics to THR as follows:
