Star Wars' Comic Writer Says Marvel Fired Him For Social Media Behavior
Chuck Wendig, the
New York Times-bestselling author of the
Star Wars: Aftermathseries of novels, has been fired by Marvel Entertainment, he said on Twitter Friday. That leaves the fate of a number of previously announced
Star Wars projects he was attached to left uncertain as a result.
In a series of tweets, Wendig, who was working on both the five-issue
Shadow of Vader mini-series and an additional, as-yet-unannounced
Star Wars series for the publisher, revealed that he had been fired by Marvel in the middle of his work on the titles because,
in his words, “of the negativity and vulgarity that my tweets bring. Seriously, that’s what Mark [Paniccia], the editor said. It was too much vulgarity, too much negativity on my part.”
Previously, Wendig had written
Hyperion and an adaptation of
Star Wars: The Force Awakens for Marvel.
Wendig has been outspoken about his liberal political views on Twitter. On Oct. 7, he drew the attention of well-known conservative personalities such as Ben Shapiro and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza with a series of
tweets surrounding the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who had been accused of sexual assault. In one tweet, which he later deleted because he
saidit had become a "funnel for harassment," he wrote, "Winter is coming, you callous fucknecks, you prolapsed assholes, you grotesque monsters, you racists and rapists and wretched abusers, you vengeful petty horrors."
Wendig's firing comes three months Marvel parent company Disney
fired James Gunn as director of
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over old, offensive tweets that had been resurfaced by conservative personalities.
Wendig is no stranger to controversy within
Star Wars fandom, with the writer being targeted by a vocal minority after
introducing one of the franchise’s first canonically gay characters in his 2015 novel
Star Wars: Aftermath. His outspoken response to that pushback —
calling those that complained “the shitty, oppressive, totalitarian Empire” — combined with his openness about discussing real-world politics on social media, made him a lightning rod within the more conservative elements of the property’s fanbase.
Marvel’s removal of Wendig comes a month after the publisher
canceled the six-issue miniseries
The Vision two months ahead of launch, with the creative team — which included another bestselling novelist, Chelsea Cain — only getting a few days’ notice, and little explanation as to why, beyond a change in publishing plans surrounding the characters being used in the series. Notably, Cain is as vocal about her politics, and equally visible as a target for rightwing trolls on social media, as Wendig, although that was not given as a reason for the series’ surprise cancellation.
Marvel Entertainment declined to comment.
