*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).
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
