Guardians of the Galaxy cast members are coming together to show support for director James Gunn, who was fired by Disney this pas week, after his near-decade old offensive and crude social media posts were unearthed recently. Shortly after Disney officially fired him, Gunn issued an official statement, accepting his employer’s decision on the matter and apologizing for his past blunders. For context, this isn’t the first time these controversial tweets have been brought to light. Gunn publicly apologized for them two years before the first Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters, and he has openly referenced that dark time in his life multiple times in the past, reiterating that he’s not proud of them.

Disney’s decision has been the talk of the town since it was announced, prompting various reactions from fans and people in the industry. Gunn’s firing was especially surprising, considering that he was such a huge creative force at Marvel Studios. Several high-profile people have publicly taken the filmmaker’s side in this whole debacle, including his brother, Sean Gunn. Meanwhile, a rapidly growing online petition has been created for the House of Mouse to rehire Gunn (though, based on the track record of similar petitions, it’s not expected to change the company’s decision).

Dave Bautista was among the first actors to support Gunn on Twitter, saying the director is “gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals.” He also reiterated that everybody makes mistakes and that he’s “NOT ok with what’s happening to him.” Since then, the former pro-wrestler-turned-actor - who plays Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies - has continued to post about the issue on his Twitter account, firing back at “cybernazis” for their attack on Gunn (who’s a vocal critic of President Donald Trump):

After Bautista set precedence by speaking up about the issue, his Guardians of the Galaxy costars have also begun to speak out about Gunn’s firing on Twitter. Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) and Zoe Saldana (Gamora) have both subtly expressed their solidarity with Gunn on Twitter, as have Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), and Pom Klementieff (Mantis). You can check out their respective tweets on the issue, below:

 

It’s not clear yet if Marvel Studios plans to release their own statement regarding the matter, seeing as Gunn’s firing significantly affects their future plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only was Gunn actively developing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (which was set to kick-off the next 10 years’ worth of storytelling in the MCU), he was also lined up to continue expanding the cosmic side of the MCU beyond the Guardians movies, thereafter. Suffice it to say, everything has changed now.

MORE: Disney Should Rehire James Gunn For Guardians of the Galaxy 3

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