Guardians of the Galaxy director

James Gunn: Guardians of the Galaxy director fired over offensive tweets

The American filmmaker apologised after old tweets in which he appeared to joke about paedophilia and rape were unearthed and widely shared.

But Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn announced his sacking on Friday.

"The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James' Twitter feed are indefensible," he said in a statement.

"[They are] inconsistent with our studio's values, and we have severed our business relationship with him."