Disney Won’t Re-Hire James Gunn For Guardians 3 – Report

Fired Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn met recently to discuss the possibility Gunn coming back for Vol. 3, but Disney isn’t budging. That’s according to a report from Variety, which described the sit-down as only a “courtesy meeting.”

Sources told Variety that the meeting was “civil and professional,” but Horn refused to bring Gunn back for the third movie. Gunn and his talent agency reportedly tried hard to get him back in the director’s chair, but it won’t happen.

Marvel president Kevin Feige was traveling on Tuesday when the meeting was held, according to sources, so he wasn’t able to join. Feige reportedly is in agreement with Disney’s decision to not re-hire Gunn.

The report goes on to claim that Disney and Marvel will look for a new director in the time ahead, though whether or not the movie’s production schedule gets interrupted remains to be seen. Vol. 3 is pegged to start production in early 2019. The movie is expected to still use Gunn’s script, though there are a lot of moving pieces and Disney has made no official statement yet.

Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy series, has said he will ask to be released from his contract if Marvel makes Vol. 3 without Gunn’s script.

Bautista, as well as Guardians castmates Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Michael Rooker all signed a letter of support for James Gunn in the wake of his firing. The statement doesn’t directly call for Gunn to be re-hired, but the actors collectively said, “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,” reads a line from the statement. “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.”

Gunn was fired after some of his tweets from almost a decade ago surfaced in which he joked about rape and pedophilia.

Who The Hell Is Black Mask?

The villain in DC’s Birds of Prey movie is also a classic DC comics character you might not have heard of. Dave dives into the comic origins of Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask!

Pearl #1 Is a Gorgeous Crime Comic

Brian Michael Bendis has quickly proven himself at home in the DC Universe. If he can hit the ground running with Superman, there’s little reason to worry about Bendis’ ability to handle, say, Batman or Green Lantern. However, Pearl represents the next major hurdle in Bendis’ DC tenure. Can the move to DC reinvigorate his creator-owned Jinxworld imprint in the same way it has his mainstream superhero work? It’s a bit early to judge based on one issue, but Pearl #1 does serve as a promising debut and a welcome return to mature readers crime comics for Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos.

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Castle Rock’s Dark Tower Connection Revealed

Warning: FULL SPOILERS follow for Castle Rock Season 1, Episode 6, titled “Filter.” Castle Rock was renewed for Season 2 earlier this week.

The Stephen King Universe just got a whole lot bigger in Castle Rock Episode 6, with a reveal that hints to a possible Dark Tower connection.

For those uninitiated in the Kingverse mythology, the Dark Tower (also the name of an 8-part book series) is the center of the Stephen King multiverse and serves as the metanarrative that ties together and separates the individual realities of the Stephen King universe. Within that multiverse are doorways, both magical and mechanical that can transport a person to “other heres 

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