From Marvel to DC: James Gunn, fired from Guardians of the Galaxy, to script new Suicide Squad film
Warner Bros. confirm that Gunn will write the script for the studio’s next instalment of Suicide Squad after he was fired by Disney for jokes involving rape and paedophilia he wrote years earlier
James Gunn may have been fired from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy , but DC Comics will welcome him with open arms.
Warner Bros. on Tuesday confirmed that Gunn will write the script for the studio’s next instalment of Suicide Squad , the DC supervillain team-up franchise. In July, Disney fired Gunn after jokes involving rape and paedophilia he wrote years earlier on Twitter resurfaced.
The creative force between the two hugely popular Guardians films, Gunn’s firing prompted its own backlash. The cast issued a statement of support for their writer-director, imploring Disney to reinstate him.
But instead, Gunn will take over Suicide Squad, the franchise led by Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto. The first film, written and directed by David Ayer, earned US$747 million in 2016 but drew withering reviews. Gunn is expected to take an entirely new approach, and potentially direct the new Suicide Squad instalment.
Gunn’s tweets, largely from 2009-2012, received renewed attention after Gunn’s criticism of President Donald Trump prompted far-right propagandists Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec to comb through Gunn’s social media history. Gunn apologised.