Will Disney Actually Rehire James Gunn?

It's been a little over a week since Disney fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, after a number of offensive tweets from the director came to light, but could he still return to the helm?

His dismissal has sparked a wave of controversy and an outcry of support from both fans - a petition to have him reinstated has reached over 300,000 signatures - and stars. After a period of silence, the entire cast of Guardians has released an open letter pledging their support for Gunn (which you can read in full below).

A fan petition is one thing, and rather easy for Disney to ignore. But pressure from the huge stars of the movie is a whole other thing, and puts them in a quite unprecedented situation. And as per Variety:

"Sources say there has been a growing feeling that Gunn could be reinstated, especially because Marvel and Disney have been unusually radio-silent on who could replace him since the firing. Production is slated to start at the top of 2019, and following Gunn’s removal from the film, it was thought that Marvel and Disney would need to move quickly to replace him, since the replacement would likely have to do some work on the script."

Rehiring Gunn just a couple of weeks after firing him would be a massive backtrack from Disney, and undoubtedly still upset people who are happy he's been fired, so it wouldn't be easy to bring him back, but then this has already turned into a PR nightmare for the company. And the cast's unhappiness means there's the chance of weaker performances in the third Guardians film, and less chance of them signing new deals for further movies. That's a situation Disney will need to avoid, and whether they rehire Gunn or not they need to act sooner rather than later to take back control of the situation.

"An Open Letter from the Cast of Guardians of the Galaxy
To our fans and friends:
We fully support James Gunn. We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss. In that time, we’ve been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3 as well as discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.
Being in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has been a great honor in each of our lives.We cannot let this moment pass without expressing our love, support, and gratitude for James. We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together on set making Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2. The character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart we all know, trust, and love. In casting each of us to help him tell the story of misfits who find redemption, he changed our lives forever. We believe the theme of redemption has never been more relevant than now.
Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again in the future. His story isn’t over—not by a long shot.
There is little due process in the court of public opinion. James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial. Given the political divide in this country, it’s safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope Americans from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality.
It is our hope that what has transpired can serve as an example for all of us to realize the enormous responsibility we have to ourselves and to each other regarding the use of our written words when we etch them in digital stone; that we as a society may learn from this experience and in the future will think twice before we decide what we want to express; and in so learning perhaps can harness this capability to help and heal instead of hurting each other. Thank you for taking the time to read our words.
The Guardians of the Galaxy"

Do you think Gunn should be rehired? Share your thoughts down in the comments.