So, in the wake of the James Gunn affair, what could be next for Guardians of the Galaxy?

Whilst I can both see why Gunn was fired and why he should not have been, the decision has been made and we are now in a post Gunn MCU.

The stars of the movie have recently come out in support of their friend and co-worker and while they do all have contracts we must remember that not all the Guardians survived the snapocalypse and the one who didn’t may very well find themselves not brought back to reality in the next movie if it is just easier to remove agitators and Gunn loyalists.

Disney, at the end of the day, can do whatever they want and they will do what they feel is the correct course of action regardless of what the internet thinks. Their stewardship of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a resounding success commercially, critically and financially so much that other studios have tried to imitate but so far have all failed.

With the imminent merger of Disney and Fox, the House of Mouse have further strengthed their position of power in the entertainment industry and are in the process of reclaiming all Marvels IPs… apart from Spider-Man.

We are very soon going to see big changes in the MCU, with contracts ending and characters being written out or killed and they could be replaced by the Fantastic Four, X-Men or Eternals and this is an especially dangerous position for cast members of Guardians of the Galaxy because this team historically has had a rotating roster of heroes: Drax, Starlord, Mantis and Gamora are in a dangerous place now as, barring reshoots and pick ups, all of Avengers 4 has been shot and with Guardians Vol 3 now in a state of flux it could be the best time to shake up the line-up in preparation for the next phase if the MCU.

Nova could quite easily replace Starlord, and who wouldn’t want to see Korg in place of Drax? Perhaps Jean Gray/The Phoenix could replace Gamora and Mantis could be quite easily replaced with Moondragon or Kitty Pryde.

The situation with James Gunn is sad: he loved the characters, he made two very good movies and he will be hard to replace but, as in life, things change and you either adapt or die and Disney is not known for stagnation… especially when cash is involved.

We may not like it but we have to lump it Gunn has been fired but the Guardians of the Galaxy live on without him. Let’s not mourn his passing let’s celebrate the future and the endless possibilities that are to come.

All that said, it’s amazing how a legally binding contract can make people keep their opinions to themselves and we could well see further adventures of our favourite Guardians for another few movies.