Disney rehires James Gunn to direct 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3'
After being fired by Disney in July for decade-old inappropriate tweets, filmmaker James Gunn has been rehired to write and direct the third installment of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' franchise for Marvel. At the time, Gunn had publicly apologized for the tweets saying he 'regretted them for many years since.' The 'Guardians' cast released an open letter later that month in full support of Gunn.
Zoe Saldana couldn't be happier that James Gunn has been reinstated as director of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."
ET's Ash Crossan spoke with the actress at the Los Angeles press day for her upcoming film, "Missing Link," where she opened up about her reaction to Gunn rejoining "Guardians." He was fired by Disney in July after controversial jokes he made nearly a decade ago resurfaced on Twitter.
"I'm proud of him. I'm happy that he's coming back," Saldana said of Gunn. "I'm so proud of Disney, actually, that all the leaders right now behind that big corporation decided to lead by example, and spreading the word and the message of redemption is important."
JAMES GUNN REINSTATED TO DIRECT 'GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3'
Shortly after his firing in July, Gunn apologized, while the "Guardians" cast — including Saldana, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista and more — expressed their support for him in an open letter, asking that he be reinstated as director. Eight months later, he was rehired; he tweeted earlier this month that he was "tremendously grateful" of those who stood by him, and said that he was continuing to work on "being the best human being I can be."
Saldana is also proud of the way Disney has embraced representation. She couldn't have been more thrilled with the success of Brie Larson's "Captain Marvel."
Zoe Saldana and James Gunn (Getty)
"I loved it so much. I'm so proud of her, I'm so proud of Marvel Studios," she expressed. "I'm also so happy that the public received it and they really supported it, because that was the main part of this whole equation. We need to go and support these movies with female leads in order for our corporations to understand that there is business in investing in female narratives."
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"It's better representative of what America is today," she said, noting that "Black Panther" was also a great example that diversity on screen pays off. "It's no longer that shift of, 'Oh, can you allow this to happen?' It's more like you have to do it because if you don't you're neglecting 49 percent of your audience."
For now, Saldana is focused on her new stop-motion film, "Missing Link," in which she plays adventurer Adelina Fortnight, who accompanies a myths and monsters investigator, Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), on his quest to prove the existence of a legendary creature, Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis).
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"[My character] has a true sense of justice, so she's not going to allow Lionel to take advantage of Mr. Link," the actress explained. "Also, she finds herself displaced once again. She's an immigrant, she buried her husband and now she finds herself questioning, 'What do I do? Who am I? Where do I go?' So she's in dire need of an adventure. She embarks on this adventure with them and discovers herself, but discovers that being selfless is part of self discovery as well -- being there for others."
"Missing Link" hits theaters on April 12.
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