Is Marvel Actually Taking The High Road?
That’s the conundrum of the day. Is Marvel taking the high road, or is it caving in for the greater good? And by the greater good, I mean Disney’s future?
You’ve probably heard the news. Marvel has brought back James Gunn to the director’s chair of the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3 after he was fired last year.
Gunn was fired from directing the third installment of the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie, after a series of old and controversial Tweets resurfaced and was brought to the attention to the public.
His script for the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 was still going to be used in the making of the movie, but Marvel had a tough time finding the right director that could replace Gunn. The names of Edgar Wright and Taika Waititi were mentioned, but in that particular time, Gunn transferred to the rival DC films studio where he was chosen to direct the Suicide Squad sequel.
So, now we have a director that will direct movies for both Marvel and DC, and although I wasn’t surprised by the DC’s bold choice to hire him, I was most surprised by the bold decision of Marvel to re-hire him.
Which begs the question. Is this Marvel’s way of taking the high road and being the bigger man (you know forgiving him for his indiscretions) or is Marvel doing this for the good of the company’s future? A lot of people were openly displeased with Gunn’s firing last year, and the cast of the Guardian Of The Galaxy even signed a petition for Gunn to be brought back.
But why is this shift in Marvel’s direction? Was it a truly of a sign of Marvel’s maturity or there’s a bigger meaning to this, that isn’t even remotely related to making good business decisions?
I think it’s a bit of both actually. They’re really taking the high road, and they’re really aware that no other director can truly fill James Gunn’s shoes in this movie. Guardians Of The Galaxy is Gunn’s baby and whatever he might have meant when he wrote those Tweets, maybe the public humiliation was the penance that he needed. So, I’m curious to find out what his re-hiring will mean to the overall quality of the Vol. 3. Will it be a masterpiece of the prodigal son’s return or a string of bad decisions for Marvel that started with the hiring of Brie Larson in the role of Captain Marvel.
Time will tell.
