In July, amidst controversy surrounding tweets that James Gunn had made 10 years ago about pedophilia and rape, the director of 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. I' and 'Vol. II' was dismissed by Disney.
Gunn was in the middle of preparing 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III' when he was dismissed. Disney is still on the lookout for an A-list director to replace Gunn, and the production is currently on hold.
Meanwhile, Gunn has joined Warner Brothers to write the script and direct 'Suicide Squad 2'.
Upon news of Gunn's new hiring, Dave Bautista, who plays Drax the Destroyer in the 'Guardians' movies and has been one of Gunn's most vocal supporters, tweeted his desire to join the cast of 'Suicide Squad 2' so that he can work with Gunn again.
Bautista has also threatened to leave the production of 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III' if Gunn's script was not used.
Gunn has since apologized for his decade-old tweets.
In a statement he released, he said:
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative. I have regretted them for many years since—not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don't reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
"Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse.To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.”