Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, recently agreed to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter covering wide range of topics, running the gamut from #MeToo to Star Wars over-saturation to ESPN’s politics, even touching on ABC’s decision to cancel Roseanne. He also discussed the firing of James Gunn, who (as you may know if you follow the news or have eyeballs) involuntarily exited the director’s chair of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 following the unearthing of offensive tweets from years ago.
“The James Gunn decision was brought to me as a unanimous decision of a variety of executives at the studio and I supported it,” Iger said. Despite the backlash from fans and cast members, most notably Dave Bautista, who appears ready to end his relationship with Disney altogether, Iger doesn’t seem to have any regrets about not rehiring Gunn. “I haven’t second-guessed their decision,” he stated, careful not to accept direct responsibility, as large corporations are wont to do.
With the recent deal between 20th Century Fox and Disney, the door is now open for character interactions that simply weren’t possible before. Specifically, the X-Men (and Fantastic Four) characters are now free to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When asked how Marvel will incorporate the X-Men characters into the MCU Iger provided few details, admitting that it makes sense to keep Marvel head-honcho Kevin Feige as the overseer. “I think it only makes sense [for Feige to be in charge]. I want to be careful here because of what’s been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn’t be two Marvels.”
Does that mean Deadpool could become an Avenger sometime soon? “Kevin’s got a lot of ideas,” Iger said. “I’m not suggesting that’s one of them. But who knows?” Regarding personnel, including senior management, Iger stated that he intends to keep the cream of the crop in order to maintain the standard of excellence that Marvel films have attained over the last ten years. “We’re going to take the best people from both companies and that’s who’s going to basically be on the playing field for us. Meaning, talent will prevail.”
Feel free to head on over to The Hollywood Reporter to check out the full interview. Just make sure you avoid the dumpster-fire of a comments section, as no one needs that trauma in their life.
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