Disney's hasty decision to fire James Gunn in the wake of older, controversial Tweets resurfacing the other week is one likely to cause headaches throughout Marvel, and Hollywood for that matter as well. Given the context that led to his firing, it establishes a dangerous precedent, and given how the cast have united in an attempt to see Disney rehire the director, the consequences (both for the industry as a whole as well as the MCU) are fast becoming apparent.
There's little doubt that a third Guardians film will still be made, but with the company apparently eager to sever all ties with Gunn, the threequel's completed script is likely to be tossed out the window. Taking into account how influential the first two Guardians films were in altering the fabric of the MCU, and that's bound to cause issues - even if a shortlist of replacements has likely already been drawn up.
We know not yet what kind of film Gunn would've liked to make, but with Adam Warlock having been established in Guardians 2, it's likely he would've filled the role of villain-turned-hero, before starring in subsequent films after the fact.
There's no shortage of possibilities of where the Guardians could head next - potentially with Venom, of all creatures - but without Gunn, it just wouldn't feel the same.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
