James Gunn is back on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and fans are channeling their inner Bautista in celebration

It's been a banner week for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain Marvel slammed the box office records in an amazing Brie Larson-led adventure, we got another detail-filled trailer for Avengers: Endgame, and now the once-fired James Gunn has returned to helm Guardians of the Galaxy 3.   

Gunn was fired after a number of controversial tweets were uncovered last year (though he had apologized for them long before this recent outcry). Immediately after his dismissal, fans, other notable filmmakers, and the Guardians stars themselves spoke out against Marvel's decision to let the director go. Now that he's back, fans went all-out on Twitter to celebrate the return of their favorite MCU director. 

It started off with simple celebrations:

Some even talked about Disney's acquisition of Fox and how it could play into Guardians 3:

Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi even got in some good-natured ribbing: 

Oh, we can dream… 

Finally, some big jokes that really resonated:

After the initial news broke, Gunn made a heartfelt statement thanking his supporters and addressing some criticism he'd received over the past few months: 

If you're eager for more Guardians of the Galaxy action, be sure to check out this Captain Marvel fan theory.  

Contributor

Aron Garst is a journalist and writer exploring the future of games and interactivity. Follow him on X at @GarstProduction.