A fan who posted a modest proposal that Marvel replace Chris Pratt with Patrick Wilson in its Guardians of the Galaxy franchise set off a firestorm of back and forth, including a stiff defense of Pratt from director James Gunn.
On Saturday, Twitter user @themeghanlodon_ posted side by side photos of the two actors with the text, “Marvel. Hear me out. Just…replace him.”
Marvel. Hear me out. Just… replace him. pic.twitter.com/g4pfZ9ni7s
— meghan 2.0「she/her」 (@themeghanlodon_) April 24, 2022
The Twitterverse ran with the comment, attributing the desire to replace Pratt with his alleged association with a church that espouses gay conversion therapy, among other things.
Guardians director James Gunn was among those replying. His initial message read, “For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.”
For what? Because of your made-up, utterly-false beliefs about him? For something that someone else told you about him that’s not true? Chris Pratt would never be replaced as Star-Lord but, if he ever was, we would all be going with him.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 25, 2022
While some went on to claim Pratt is a member of the church in question and enumerate issues with its teachings, others pointed out that Pratt has never been confirmed to be a member of said church.
Gunn, replying to the former group, wrote:
He isn’t. I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, “yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!”)
He isn’t. I know the church he currently goes to. Do you? (The answer is you don’t, but you heard from someone who heard from someone who heard from someone where he goes to church, so decided, “yeah, okay, I’ll believe this terrible thing I heard online about this celebrity!”)
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 25, 2022
Gunn, of course, was fired by Disney in 2018 for allegedly inappropriate jokes he made on Twitter about 10 years ago. Pratt and his Guardians co-stars Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana all lobbied for the director, who was reinstated.