Marvel halts Guardians of the Galaxy 3, has mystery meeting with Thor Ragnarok director Taika Waititi

According to a new report, Marvel has halted early work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 as the studio finds a replacement for fired director James Gunn.

Marvel and Disney aren’t rushing into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after its director, James Gunn, was abruptly fired in July. The studio is said to have shut down pre-production work on the film as they regroup and search for a replacement director.

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have made a collective $1.6 billion worldwide.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney has halted early work on the film and released the small crew from their contracts. Gunn was supposed to direct the third installment of the series, which hadn’t been given a firm release date, before he was fired when old tweets of his were brought up by conservative commentators. A recent meeting between Gunn and Disney Studios chief Alan Horn shut down any possibility of his returning after fan outcry.

 

The central cast of the films also penned an open letter in support of the ousted filmmaker, arguing that the retaliation against him was politically motivated and he deserves to be forgiven.

The report says that the studio is taking a ‘measured approach’ in finding a replacement for Gunn, unlike when they surged ahead when director Edgar Wright departed Ant-Man weeks before filming was supposed to begin. The report mentions a mystery meeting the studio had with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, but it isn’t clear what the agenda of the meeting was.

The Guardians movies have made a collective $1.6 billion worldwide and turned lead actor Chris Pratt into a household name. Waititi’s Ragnarok is the most critically and commercially successful entry in the Thor series, and was compared to the Guardians films in its tone and humour.

Meanwhile, Marvel is currently in the middle of overseeing reshoots for Avengers 4, due out in May 2019.

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