Summary
A close friend and fellow screenwriter steps in forGuardians of the Galaxyco-writer Nicole Perlman, adding fuel to the circulating allegations of what transpired between Perlman and James Gunn during the production of the Marvel Studios film.
Gunn had already been on a controversial path to becoming the new DC Studios CEO. His rise to DC started whenDisney fired Gunn fromGuardians of the Galaxy 3for past reprehensible thoughts on Twitter and a pedophile-themed party that included a convicted pedophile. However, while this may be where Gunn’s character was judged in the eyes of the public, it is not where those controversies began, as further allegations are now coming to light regarding alleged bullying tactics used by Gunn in an attempt to be seen as the sole writer onGuardians of the Galaxyagainst Perlman.
RELATED:James Gunn Fires Back At Snyderverse Fan Over Past Zack Snyder Comment
Joanna Robinson’s bookThe Reign of Marvel Studiosdescribes Perlman as having written the original story and screenplay for Marvel Studios’Guardians of the Galaxy, which included many iconic aspects seen in the movie, such asStar Lord’s backstory and passion for retro music. Gunn ended up rewriting the screenplay, and despite Perlman still needing to be acknowledged as co-writer according to WGA guidelines, Zack Stentz, Perlman’s friend and co-writer of theThorscreenplay, detailed the behind-the-scenes Perlman endured to receive credit. “Nicole had to knife-fight for her credit onGuardians of the Galaxy. But she is probably the preeminent female action tent pole writer now because she was the first woman to have her name on not just a Marvel movie, but on a Marvel movie that people really love.”
Stentz goes further, detailing Perlman’s thoughts and the lengths Gunn went to to push Perlman out of the Marvel circle. “She threw a party when the movie came out literally called the ‘Fuck James Gunn’ party because she had won that very bruising credit arbitration. The thing that I’m still angry about, and I say this as a fan of James Gunn as a director, was that he very clearly was selectively leaking stuff to his friends and the fanboy media circles to undermine her credit," Stentz said. “When Matthew Vaughnn decided to have a temper tantrum over the fact that we got screen credit [onX-Men: First Class], at least he did it under his own name.” In the book, Perlman stated that she “credits everybody in the movie, including James, for making it so beautiful.” Gunn has not responded to Stentz’s comments at this time.
While some entities like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery would assume that Gunn has grown from his mistakes, others would argue otherwise with examples pointing to many of the tactics previously used on Perlman, prevalent in the media by statements that contradict the word of Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Zack Snyder, and Henry Cavill. While fans are eager to move forward with DC, anair of uncertainty looms over the DCU, with Universal rumored to be in the running to acquire WBD.
Perlman’s interest in writing screenplays initially began with her passion for science fiction, and she has been involved with theScience and Entertainment Exchangeto keep what audiences see in movies as real as possible. She received her writing credit onGuardians of the Galaxyfor her original screenplay, which she said wasn’t “based on any particular comic book.” However, she went on to work on other movies while Gunn completed the screenplay for theGuardians of the Galaxysequel.
Guardians of the Galaxyis available on Disney Plus.
More:Can James Gunn Recreate His Guardians of the Galaxy Success With Creature Commandos?
Source:The Reign of Marvel Studios by Dave Gonzales and Joanna Robinson
