Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista SLAMS director James Gunn FIRING – ‘It's NOT okay’

Writing on Twitter, Bautista said: “I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this.

“@JamesGunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met.

“He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals.

“He’s made mistakes. We all have. I’m NOT ok with what’s happening to him.”

Gunn, who directed Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, also executive produced Avengers Infinity War.

He had been hard at work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, having recently completed a draft of the script.

The threequel was due to shoot this autumn in Atlanta and was expected to be released in early 2020.

He’s even been a figurehead in helping plan the future of the MCU’s cosmic storytelling beyond Avengers 4, alongside Marvel boss Kevin Feige.

Interestingly Gunn’s firing came even after he’d apologised on Twitter for the tweets that were brought up by conservative personalities who have political views contrary to the filmmaker.

Some fans have pointed out that similar controversial jokes were brought up in 2012 when he was appointed director on Guardians of the Galaxy – something he apologised for then.

What happens now with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 remains a mystery.