The outrage mob is good at getting people fired, but apparently it only needs to fall out of the news cycle for its results to reverse course.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn got canned by Disney last summer after people unearthed old tweets where he joked about rape and pedophilia. Now, eight months later, he’s returning for “Guardians of the Galaxy 3.”

Back in July, Gunn apologized for the tweets, spanning 2009-2012, and said when he started his career, “I viewed myself as a provocateur.”

The people who worked with him seemed to agree that the smut was just an act. “Guardians” stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and others signed an open letter defending Gunn in July.





“The character he has shown in the wake of his firing is consistent with the man he was every day on set, and his apology, now and from years ago when first addressing these remarks, we believe is from the heart, a heart we all know, trust, and love,” they wrote. “There is little due process in the court of public opinion.”

But that wasn’t enough for Disney. It had announced on July 20 that it severed its business relationship with Gunn, who wrote and directed the first two “Guardians” films.

Now that all the virtue signaling is out of the way and James Gunn has fallen out of the news, however, Walt Disney Studios appears to think it’s safe to reverse course.

Deadline first reported that Gunn was back with Disney on Friday, though the studio made the decision months ago. This means it didn’t take Disney long to realize it shouldn’t have cowed to the outrage mob, but it didn’t have the guts to say so.