Entire 'Guardians of the Galaxy' cast writes open letter protesting Disney's firing of James Gunn
"We fully support James Gunn."
Those five words are the first you read in an open letter to Disney, a letter signed by every starring cast member in Guardians of the Galaxy. That's Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Michael Rooker, plus Gunn's brother, Sean.
The cast is united in their belief that Disney made a huge mistake in firing Gunn, and they're now letting the whole world know about it.
"Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again in the future," the letter reads. "His story isn't over -- not by a long shot."
Here's the full text, posted on Pratt's personal Instagram. The letter is accompanied by the following note from Pratt:
"Although I don’t support James Gunn’s inappropriate jokes from years ago, he is a good man. I’d personally love to see him reinstated as director of Volume 3. If you please, read the following statement- signed by our entire cast."
The letter goes on to rail against the circumstances that led to Gunn's dismissal. Disney let the director go after deeply offensive, years-old tweets containing a younger Gunn's flip jokes about pedophilia resurfaced.
It was, as the letter describes, an intentional character assassination. Gunn acknowledged his bad behavior and apologized for it years ago, in the early days of his relationship with Disney. The sudden appearance of a "James Gunn is bad and should be fired" narrative came from the darker corners of the alt-right, from shady figures like Mike Cernovich.
"There is little due process in the court of public opinion. James is likely not the last good person to be put on trial," the letter reads. "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."
Strong words from a cast of bona fide superstars. It's been radio silence from the studio since Gunn was fired, but you have to think a message like this will compel some kind of response.
Your move, Disney.
Topics Film
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
