James Gunn was convinced he could never work in Hollywood again.
In July 2018, old tweets, posted a few years earlier by the filmmaker, resurfaced, causing an earthquake in the career of the director of
Guardians of the Galaxy
, while he was preparing the third installment of the franchise.
These messages, posted in the tone of humor, were ironic on subjects such as the Holocaust, pedophilia, or AIDS.
Such a scandal that he must have had a very unpleasant discussion with his Marvel bosses.
“It was Kevin Feige [the president of Marvel Studios] who told me about it.
I called Kevin the morning it happened, and I said, "Is that a big deal?"
And he said, "I don't know."
It was a weird moment.
I said, "Don't you know?"
I was surprised.
Later he called me - he was in shock himself - and told me the authorities had made up their minds.
It was unbelievable.
And for one day it looked like it was all gone.
I was going to have to sell my house.
I was never going to be able to work again.
That's how I felt, ”the director told The
New York Times
.
The comeback
Three years later, James Gunn is back in the spotlight. Not at Marvel (which has since rehired him on
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
), but at the competition, DC Films, with whom he collaborated on the
Suicide Squad
sequel
, titled…
The Suicide Squad
. While the posts did not destroy his career, they allowed him to think differently about his way of expressing himself on social networks.
“I pay more attention to the feelings of people today. I had talked about it a lot before these tweets resurfaced. These are horrible things, that's what my sense of humor was back then. But before that happened, I realized that I had closed myself off to things that I found tearful because I didn't want to be vulnerable. This attitude - I can joke about anything, look how awesome I am - it's not the human being I have become anymore. And I learned it long before I was criticized for my tweets, ”he said.
When
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is
released in 2023, James Gunn will have spent nearly 10 years making superhero blockbusters.
Does he plan to go further with Marvel and DC in the future?
Not sure.
“I have no idea what I'm going to do at all.
For me,
Guardians 3
is probably the last.
I don't know if I'll do it again, ”he concluded.
People
VIDEO.
James Gunn responds to Francis Ford Coppola's criticism of the MCU
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