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And he made sure to remind the studio about his position in a sarcastic, Trump-referencing tweet.
On Friday, the 49-year-old actor shared a Screen Rant article that blasted Disney for refusing to rehire Gunn. Bautista captioned the post with: “Thanks @Disney!! Making America great again.” It was a shady post that underscored the mounting criticism Disney has faced for seemingly siding with far-right figures.
Gunn, a vocal critic of Trump, was removed from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise nearly one month ago. Disney made the decision after a mob of Twitter users—many of whom were far-right social media personalities—unearthed a batch of Gunn’s older tweets in which he joked about topics like rape and pedophilia. Though the director apologized for the offensive jokes, which were posted between 2008 and 2011, Disney decided he would not return for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
There were rumors that the studio was reconsidering their decision, Variety confirmed in an exclusive report that Gunn would not be reinstated. It was somewhat of a surprising move, as many stars of Guardians of the Galaxy have expressed their support for Gunn, who helmed the franchise’s first two installments.
Bautista previously stated it was “pretty nauseating” to work for a studio that would “empower a smear campaign by fascists.” He and his Guardians of the Galaxy co-stars also penned a joint open letter expressing their support for Gunn, calling for the filmmaker's reinstatement.
“We were all shocked by his abrupt firing last week and have intentionally waited these ten days to respond in order to think, pray, listen, and discuss,” the letter reads. “In that time we've been encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans and members of the media who wish to see James reinstated as director of Volume 3 as well as discouraged by those so easily duped into believing the many outlandish conspiracy theories surrounding him.”
Disney has not announced which director will take over the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, which is scheduled to begin filming next year.
