Despite mounting speculation that Disney were prepared to do a 180-turn on their decision to fire James Gunn, it has now officially been determined that the director will not be re-hired.

The saga has been ongoing for several weeks, with the cast of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' even signing an open letter stating their support for Gunn, who was fired after a series of un-PC tweets were unearthed from years ago.

Now, Variety are reporting that Disney and Marvel are standing by their decision after Gunn met with studio chairman Alan Horn yesterday. There had been rumours that Marvel president Kevin Feige was more open to the idea of reinstating the director, but as he was out of town yesterday he was not able to attend the meeting.

It's not yet known whether production on the film - which was set to begin in early 2019 - will be affected, but Gunn's script will be used.

In any case, it seems like a line has been drawn under the whole saga, so we can all move on with our lives and officially begin speculating on who might take the reins on 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'. Taika Waititi and Jon Favreau have been strongly-rumoured contenders....