A petition to have James Gunn rehired as writer / director of 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3' has - as of writing - 42,264 signatures.
Previously, the director had been fired by Walt Disney Studios CEO Alan Horn after tweets from a decade ago - in which Gunn made jokes about rape and pedophilia - were resurfaced by far-right commentators in retaliation for Gunn's outspoken criticisms of Donald Trump.
In the space of twenty-four hours, both sides have reacted strongly to the news of Gunn's firing. US Senator Ted Cruz posted about Gunn's firing, calling for the director to be prosecuted for his tweets. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax The Destroyer in 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', released a statement in support of Gunn, saying that he's "not ok with what’s happening to him."
Joe Carnahan, the director of 'The Grey', meanwhile posted the petition to have Gunn reinstated whilst Fede Alvarez, who directed 'Don't Breathe' and 'The Girl In The Spider's Web', offered his support to Gunn, saying that "this nonsense culture of zero tolerance has to stop."
So far, neither Disney nor James Gunn have made follow-up statements on the issue.