Despite support from the Guardians of the Galaxy cast, Disney reportedly won’t rehire the director for the third installment of the series.
Disney, the parent company of Marvel Studios which is making the film, fired Gunn earlier this year over old, inappropriate tweets. Those tweets, which were brought to light by alt-right conservatives, included jokes about sexual assault and pedophilia.
Gunn apologized for the tweets both on Twitter and publicly to reporters, calling them a failed attempt at being provocative and regretful, Entertainment Weekly reports.
A petition to reinstate the director received more than 215,000 fan signatures, and the cast of the film signed an open letter in support of the director.
Gunn recently met with Walt Disney Chairman Alan Horn, which many thought was a sign the director was returning to the film. However, Variety reports that the meeting was just to clear the air, and while the conversation was “civil and professional,” the studio is standing by its decision to fire the director.
Disney is still searching for a replacement for Gunn to direct the next Guardians of the Galaxy film. It is currently expected to go into production early next year.