Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and other 'Guardians of the Galaxy' actors ask Disney to re-hire James Gunn
- The main cast of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies released a statement on Monday in support of fired director James Gunn.
- Many, including Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, said they would like to see him reinstated for the third "Guardians" movie.
- Gunn was fired this month over resurfaced offensive tweets from years ago.
The cast of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies released a statement on Monday in support of fired director James Gunn, and many, including Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, said they would like to see him rehired.
Disney fired Gunn this month after offensive tweets from years ago resurfaced online. Gunn had addressed and apologized for the tweets in the past, but after conservative personalities led an outpouring of backlash against the director, Disney severed its business relationship with Gunn.
Many have come to Gunn's defense since, and a petition online for Disney to rehire him has over 300,000 signatures. But most of the cast has been careful in fully addressing the situation - until now.
The cast released a statement in the form of a letter on Monday, which was signed by every member of the main cast of the two "Guardians" movies: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, and Karen Gillan.
The letter stated that they "fully support James Gunn" and being in the movies has "been a great honor in each of our lives."
They said that they didn't support Gunn's tweets, but "the character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart."
"Each of us looks forward to working with our friend James again in the future," the letter stated.
It continued: "Given the growing political divide in this country, it's safe to say instances like this will continue, although we hope Americans from across all political spectrums can ease up on the character assassinations and stop weaponizing mob mentality."
The full letter is below:
While the letter doesn't explicitly state that the cast supports Disney rehiring Gunn, many have tweeted that they wish to see him reinstated, including Pratt, Saldana, and Bautista.