The firing of director James Gunn has forced Disney to shelf Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — at least temporarily.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was to begin principal photography early next year. Now, though, Disney has informed crew members, “which is, at this stage, a small group that was prepping for preproduction, are being dismissed and are free to look for new work,” THR reports.
Disney hadn’t yet announced a release date for Guardians Vol. 3, but the “timeline has been pushed out,” a source told THR.
As previously reported, Gunn was taken off the film after old tweets by the filmmaker were dug up by conservative personality Jack Posobiec. The tweets, which date as far back as 2009, include offensive jokes about topics like rape, transphobia, and pedophilia.
Though Disney briefly considered rehiring Gunn at the encouragement of the Guardians cast, the studio has ultimately decided to find a new director. One possibility, according to THR, Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who recently had a meeting with Marvel.
