James Gunn Responds To Calls For MCU To Recast Chris Pratt

James Gunn has responded to requests to recast Chris Pratt in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. 

Taking to Twitter on Monday 25 April, Gunn, who has directed both Guardians of the Galaxy volumes, hit back at a social media user who wrote over a side-by-side photo of Pratt and actor Patrick Wilson: “Marvel. Hear me out. Just… replace him.”

Gunn jumped to Pratt’s defence in a fiery response, and let’s just say it doesn’t look like the Parks and Recreation star is going anywhere anytime soon.

Gunn wrote: “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.”

While the Twitter user in question didn’t mention any specific reason they were calling for Pratt’s replacement - other than a penchant for Watchmen star Wilson - Pratt is no stranger to controversy. 

In November, his Instagram followers took offence to a post he shared celebrating his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. Pratt thanked her for giving him a ‘gorgeous healthy daughter’ and fans criticised Pratt’s use of the word ‘healthy’, noting that the son he shares with ex Anna Faris suffered a cerebral haemorrhage when he was born prematurely. 

He’s also been slammed for ‘bragging’ about killing lambs on social media, with NME reporting at the time that his vegan and vegetarian followers were angered by a photo he shared of a plate of ribs belonging to sheep he’d reared. 

But Pratt most famously came under fire back in 2019 when it was brought to light that he is a member of anti-LGBTQ religious organisation Hillsong Church.

According to the Daily Beast, Hillsong ‘has a lengthy history of gay conversion therapy’.

Elliot Page called out Pratt online at the time, noting that when speaking about Hillsong during an interview with Stephen Colbert, Pratt failed to mention his church’s anti-LGBTQ teachings. 

Page wrote: “If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organisation that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. 

“Being anti LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all.”

Pratt stoked the fire in his response to Page, writing on Instagram: “Despite what the Bible says about divorce my church community was there for me every step of the way, never judging, just gracefully accompanying me on my walk. They helped me tremendously offering love and support. 

“It is what I have seen them do for others on countless occasions regardless of sexual orientation, race or gender.”

Of course, people were quite rightly pissed that Pratt had compared the hateful treatment of LGBTQ people to getting a divorce, but it’s unclear if Pratt got the memo.

UNILAD has reached out to Pratt’s representatives for comment.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]