James Gunn, director of hit franchise Guardians of the Galaxy has been fired by his producers after a number of his old but offensive social media posts resurfaced online.

The now-deleted posts first came to light when conservative news website the Daily Caller unearthed them. A number of conservative pundits then shared the tweets and called for Gunn to be dropped by Disney.

The American filmmaker apologised after these tweets resurfaced, in which he appeared to joke about paedophilia and rape.

In a series of tweets Gunn addressed the controversy surrounding his old posts. "I viewed myself as a provocateur, making movies and telling jokes that were outrageous and taboo," he said. "I am very, very different than I was a few years ago." "I have apologized for humor of mine that hurt people. I truly felt sorry and meant every word of my apologies," he added.

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn announced Gunn’s sacking on Friday. "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible," he said in a statement. "[They are] inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."

Gunn wrote and directed both of the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films, which were massive hits. The first instalment was one of Marvel's most successful films, making more than $771m (£540m) at the worldwide box office.

GoG starred the likes of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Dave Bautista. Bautista has defended the director’s “mistakes” on Twitter: “James Gunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. I’m NOT ok with what’s happening to him.”

Gunn has also acted as an executive producer on Avengers: Infinity War, which has grossed $2 billion worldwide at the box office.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2018 09:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).