*By Max Godnick* The Guardians of the Galaxy are taking on their toughest battle yet: convincing Disney to rehire the director James Gunn. Cast members of the hit Marvel franchise, including its stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Bradley Cooper, published an [open letter](https://twitter.com/zoesaldana/status/1023972129870503937) Monday on Twitter, urging the studio to reverse its decision to fire Gunn after his old joke tweets about pedophilia and rape resurfaced [earlier this month](https://cheddar.com/videos/vulture-columnist-on-the-tweets-that-got-james-gunn-fired). The cast was "discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding [\Gunn.]\" It's unclear whether Disney will answer the stars' plea. "It would set a really uncomfortable precedent," said Sean O'Connell, the managing editor of Cinemablend. "They reacted to the outrage over Gunn's initial tweets, now they're reacting to the outrage to the reaction." The decision to fire Gunn marks a rare public-relations headache in an otherwise watershed year for Disney's Marvel Studios. "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Black Panther" were two of the company's most successful titles ever, and are among the 10 highest-grossing movies of all time. Previous staffing shakeups at Marvel, like the decision to replace the directors of "Ant-Man" in 2015 and "Thor: Ragnarok" in 2017, were based solely on creative differences. "Marvel Studios has been rolling along with very few waves," O'Connell said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar. Now, the pressure is on, as Disney and Marvel search for the Gunn's replacement for the third installment of the "Guardians" franchise, which is scheduled to begin production in early 2019. Given the very public backlash to Gunn's firing and the support for his reinstatement (an [online petition] (https://www.change.org/p/marvel-re-hire-james-gunn) with over 355,000 signatures), O'Connell said he's doubtful the studio will find someone willing to take the position. "I don't know any director who would want to now step into that," he said. For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/will-disney-listen-to-the-guardians-of-the-galaxy-cast).

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More