Why Did Marvel Fire 'Superman' Director James Gunn From Its Cinematic Universe?

Before James Gunn took over the box office thanks to the latest Superman reboot, the director worked on Marvel Studios's Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Everything turned out to be all right when the first two installments of the franchise were developed. Audiences from all over the world fell in love with the unpredictable batch of cosmic heroes, and Marvel found a franchise that could light up the box office alongside their Avengers property.

A third Guardians of the Galaxy movie entered development, with the studio looking to release them some time after their massive Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame crossovers. But then, James Gunn was fired from the film before principal photography began. Why did Disney remove James Gunn as the director of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3? Here's what we know about what led Marvel Studios to fire one of its most successful filmmakers.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn was fired from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 because someone found and shared old, controversial social media posts from the filmmaker. The content from those posts was a variety of disrespectful jokes regarding topics such as sexual abuse and homophobia. Disney wanted nothing to do with the bad publicity that would come thanks to their working relationship with James now that the old posts had come to light.

James Gunn immediately apologized for the disrespectful posts, but the damage was done. Disney put the production of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 on hold, giving priority to stories such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder. After an extensive support campaign for Gunn led by the cast of the Guardians movies, Disney eventually brought the director back to bring the trilogy to a close.

Years after the controversy took place, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 premiered in theaters on May 5, 2023. Stellar reviews and an $845 million global box office haul (according to Box Office Mojo) proved to Disney that bringing James back was the right decision. The studio struggled with the critical reception for The Marvels and Thor: Love and Thunder, but Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 consolidated James as one of the studio's most successful directors.

Warner Bros. took note of the controversy that happened between James Gunn and Marvel Studios. After Disney fired the filmmaker, Warner Bros. hired him to tackle The Suicide Squad. The action blockbuster starring Margot Robbie and John Cena received positive reviews. A year after that, Black Adam bombed at the box office, and the studio knew that they had to breathe new life into their DC brand if they wanted the characters to be relevant in the long run.

While Disney was debating whether to bring James back or not, the working relationship between the artist and Warner Bros. convinced HBO's parent company that James was the right person to structure their new DC Universe alongside Conjuring producer Peter Safran, according to The Hollywood Reporter. James is currently overseeing the development of upcoming titles such as Supergirl, Clayface, and The Brave and the Bold.