With the controversial dismissal of James Gunn from Marvel Studios still in the mind of the consuming masses; fans and supporters in the industry have been rallying to show support to the shunned Director, including the a large number of the cast and crew of Guardians of the Galaxy! Recently, yet another member of the franchise has given their two cents worth regarding Disney’s knee-jerk decision.

In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Hollywood legend Glenn Close has given some very candid views on the subject:

“It’s hard to think of it without him,” says Close, who played the character of Nova Prime in 2014’s original Guardians of the Galaxy. “It’s sad. And it brings up, I think, some very tricky issues around this movement. I bring it up with every woman I talk to because I want to know what people feel, you know? Is that truly what we should be doing? Especially in this case, somebody who’s known to ruin people for something that they wrote in a totally different context, what, ten, 12 years ago? What are we going to do, go back to our pasts and make sure that everything we said was politically correct? Who can live like that? I just feel that there’s something wrong about that.”

Everyone that has come to Gunn’s support has said the same thing, that the man who wrote those provocative tweets almost a decade ago is not the man who the world knows now. Given the length of time that has passed between the tweets and Gunn’s dismissal, not to mention the fact that this was way before he worked with Marvel, is it not possible that a person can change in that time? At the risk of sounding too political (because that’s not why I write these posts), consider what message Disney’s actions potentially send. One could build an argument that this gives people no motivation to change. Because why bother!? Say a few dumb things in your lifetime and you’ll be condemned regardless of the improved person that you’ve become years down the line. Close also raised some very interesting points when taken into account in matters such as this:

“We are very flawed creatures. Look at what we’re doing to our f***ing world. It was a question I was talking about to somebody last night – you have somebody that actually has the creative energy to create something like Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s a flawed human being. He was a, you know, cocky a*****e back then, and was saying things to provoke people. Does that negate him as an artist? I don’t think so. I personally do not think so. Or else we’re taking down buildings and paintings – you know, take down all the Picassos, he treated women terribly. If it’s going to be a lasting cultural revolution, which is a big change, if… We’ve got to take into consideration human nature.”

Despite everyone that has shared their opinion over the last few weeks though, Disney refuse to bow to the popular reasoning, no matter how loud the masses might shout about it. It’s this firm resolve of Disney’s that has led to the production of “Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3” being put on-hold indefinitely while a new director is sourced. But the question is will this delay the delivery of their 2020 release date. Time will tell how this will all play out, but once again, I sadly doubt this is going to end with James Gunn returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.