James Gunn Recalls Dave Bautista Defending GotG Stand-In At Wrap Party

James Gunn says Dave Bautista defended a stand-in at the filming wrap party for Guardians of the Galaxy. The writer and director’s vision of the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy films brought the obscure team to the forefront of the MCU. Bautista starred alongside Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Vin Diesel, and Gunn’s brother Sean in the original film and its sequel. The film propelled the cast to stardom and solidified the galactic arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Former wrestler Bautista stars as Drax the Destroyer in Gunn’s popular MCU series, while the director’s younger brother Sean Gunn has a comparatively smaller role, portraying the well-intentioned Ravager Kraglin Obfonteri. The next installment of the franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is expected to begin principal photography soon after Gunn’s time away from the MCU, working on The Suicide Squad and its upcoming spin-off TV series Peacemaker. Once filming is finished, most productions throw a wrap party to celebrate, inviting all the cast and crew to party hard after completing principal photography. While a wrap party is still a ways off for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Gunn recently remembered an incident at the first film’s party.

On Twitter, Gunn described how the wrap party for the first film turned violent after a crew member’s unacceptable behavior. According to Gunn, the offending crew member became physical with Sean Gunn, and upon seeing this, Bautista reacted and sent the crew member flying “ACROSS THE ROOM!” In a subsequent tweet, Gunn added more detail, recalling how the crew member instigated the incident by picking up a stand-in inappropriately and aggressively, with Sean Gunn stepping in to protect her. Read James Gunn’s full description of the events below:

Gunn’s description of the wrap party certainly makes for shocking reading. While some won’t be surprised to hear an account of inappropriate and sexist behavior during the production of a high-profile Hollywood film, Disney’s MCU properties have largely managed to avoid this type of negative press. Unlike some recent DCEU films, the cast and production team of MCU films most often describe filming and production as mostly or entirely positive. Gunn’s comments, therefore, raise some awkward questions for Disney, asking whether these types of incidents occur less frequently on MCU productions or if Disney is just more adept at making sure they aren’t talked about when they do happen. What’s also unclear is whether or not the event has had any deserved repercussions on the career of the crew member in question.

While the incident described by Gunn should have never occurred in the first place, it’s positive to hear of big-name cast members stepping in to unequivocally call out inappropriate behavior and defend other members of the filming team. The intervention shouldn’t have been necessary, and the crew member should have been able to manage their own behavior, whether in the presence of two of the Guardians of the Galaxy or not.

Source: James Gunn

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