Marvel puts Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 on ice

In news that will likely have Guardians Of The Galaxy (GotG) fans wailing and gnashing their teeth, the third film in that franchise has been put on hold.

According to a story on The Hollywood Reporter (THR), film crew members who were assembling to begin pre-preparation on the film have been told they’re free to look for other work.

The news will come as blow, if not entirely as a shock, to fans. Last month James Gunn, who both wrote and directed the first two films in this series was fired by Disney and Marvel, after a clutch of rather offensive tweets he’d written in the past came to light.

Once the tweets – which included jokes about paedophilia and rape – were back in the public domain, Gunn soon found himself without a job with Disney saying in a 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.”

THR reports that Vol 3 isn’t suspended indefinitely and Marvel and Disney are going to take a period of time to regroup. This fits, since GotG is not only one of Marvel’s most popular film franchises, it’s also one of its most profitable – the films thus far have grossed $1.6 billion at global box offices.

Disney has yet to comment on the news, but it’s likely to reignite tensions between Marvel and its fanbase. Gunn’s dismissal was apparently very unpopular among fans as well as the cast and crew and an open letter was sent to Disney to reinstate him. David Bautista, who plays Drax in the GotG movies was particularly vocal in his insistence on social media that Gunn be given his job back.