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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: Cast Signs Support Letter for James Gunn; Online Petition Reaches 354K Signatures

Chris Pratt Zoe Saldana Dave Bautista Karen Gillan Pom Klementieff Michael Rooker Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Cast Signs Support Letter; Open Petition Reaches 354K Signatures

The cast of Guardians of the Galaxy have written an open letter of support for fired director James Gunn. and an online petition is gaining steam.

Director James Gunn was fired from his directing duties of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 eleven days ago. Since that time, the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, and Michael Rooker have remained silent. They broke that silence less than twenty-four hours ago. Many wondered how the cast would react. Would they be for James Gunn or against James Gunn? Would they be ambivalent? The open letter of support ends all of that speculation.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Cast Letter of Support and Reinstatement for James Gunn

An Open Letter from the Cast of Guardians of the Galaxy

To our fans and friends:

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’ve 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 so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.

Being in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies has been a great honor in each of our lives. We cannot let this moment pass without expressing our love, support, and gratitude for James. We are not here to defend his jokes of many years ago but rather to share our experience having spent many years together on set making Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2. The character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart we all know, trust, and love. In casting each of us to help him tell the story of misfits who find redemption, he changed our lives forever. We believe the theme of redemption has never been more relevant than now.

Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again in the future. His story isn’t over – not by a long shot.

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 Americans from across the political spectrum can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality.

It is our hope that what has transpired can serve as an example for all of us to realize the enormous responsibility we have to ourselves and to each other regarding the use of our written words when we etch them in digital stone; that we as a society may learn from this experience and in the future will think twice before we decide what we want to express; and in so learning perhaps can harness this capability to help and heal instead of hurting each other. Thank you for taking the time to read our words.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Cast Letter of Support and Reinstatement for James Gunn Tweet

Online Petition to Reinstate James Gunn

The online petition for James Gunn’s reinstatement as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is quickly approaching half a million signatures (the petitions goal). As of today, 354,680 people have signed the Change.org online petition.

If Reinstatement Happens

What director’s wants to follow James Gunn directorial duties for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after the second film in the series was better than the first film? Who wants that pressure, even for the paycheck, when they might also have to endure latent resentment from the cast and crew if James Gunn is not reinstated?

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These factors lead me to believe that director James Gunn eventually will be reinstated as director. If it does happen, I hope it is handled in the right way from the top down so that everyone “saves face” after Marvel / Disney’s decision. I can’t imagine that it won’t be.

Leave your thoughts on the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy‘s reinstatement letter and the reinstatement petition reaching over 352K signatures below in the comments section. Readers seeking more box office news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and our Movie News Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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