What must have been some shocking news to all Marvel movie fans, writer-director James Gunn had been fired by Disney over some of his old tweets.  The tweets, which does back to 2012, had Gunn make some really tasteless jokes about paedophilia and rape. They were dug out by some Twitter users, as an attack on Gunn's frequent disparaging of US President Donald Trump on social media. Gunn, who had just completed the script of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol III, had accepted Disney's decision but also expressed his disappointment for being punished for his past mistakes and he has been a changed man since.

Gunn also found a lot of support from Marvel fans, who expressed outrage over what they call the studios' rash decision. Among the actors with whom Gunn has worked, it was Dave Bautista (Drax) who was most vocal in his support for the director. Now Bautista and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy co-stars Chris Pratt (Peter Quill aka Star-Lord), Zoe Saldanha (Gamora), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Sean Gunn (Kraglin / On-Set Rocket) and Michael Rooker (Yondu) have signed an open letter that they have shared on their respective social media handles in support of James Gunn.

The letter read, "We fully support James Gunn. We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss. In that time we have been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3, as well as discouraged by those who were so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories around him."

"There is little due process in the court of public opinion. James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial. Given the growing political divide in this country, it's safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope American from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality."

Check out Chris Pratt's Insta post here -

However, the letter doesn't indicate any indication of Gunn's reinstatement as GOTG director, or whether the stars will co-operate for the shooting of the third instalment of the franchise if that doesn't happen.

On July, when Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn announced the decision to fire Gunn, he gave the statement, "The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him." Fans since then have question Disney on how they have repeatedly worked with Johnny Depp, who has been infamous for physically assaulting ex-wife Amber Heard, or reminded them of the offences of the studio's founder, the late Walt Disney,

James Gunn, who has earlier directed movies like Slither and Super Bad, found worldwide recognition when he made the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014. It is considered as one of the best Marvel movies ever made, while also being a huge money-spinner. The sequel that came out in 2017 was less critically-acclaimed, but was a huge grosser.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 11:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).