AceShowbiz - Sean Gunn has leapt to the defence of his brother, director James Gunn, after he was controversially fired from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The 51-year-old filmmaker apologised after old Twitter posts - written between 2008 and 2011 - in which he appeared to joke about paedophilia and rape were unearthed and widely shared on social media.

He was removed by Disney executives on Friday, July 20, as the director of the franchise's third instalment, which was due to be released in 2020.

On Saturday, July 21, Sean, who starred in his brother's Marvel superhero movies as Kraglin, shared his reaction to the news that James had been fired in a lengthy Instagram post.

"It goes without saying that I love and support my brother James and I'm quite proud of how kind, generous, and compassionate he is with all the people in his life," Sean began, as he explained that his older sibling had been "downright stupid" in the past.

"Since devoting his entire life to the Guardians movies and MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) six years ago, I've seen him channel that voice into his work and seen him transform from the guy who made up things to shock people."

Sean then credited the movies, starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista, for helping his brother become a more focused filmmaker.

"This change in my brother was reflected in the change that the Guardians go through. I've heard my brother say many times that when (Peter 'Star-Lord Quill) rallies the team with 'this is our chance to give a s**t' - to care - that it's the pep talk he himself needed to hear. It's part of what made working on the Guardians movies such a rewarding experience for the cast (sic)," he continued.

It goes without saying that I love and support my brother James and I’m quite proud of how kind, generous, and compassionate he is with all the people in his life. Since he was a kid, it was clear he had a desire (maybe destiny) to be an artist, tell stories, find his voice through comics, films, his band. The struggle to find that voice was sometimes clunky, misguided, or downright stupid, and sometimes wonderful, moving, and hilarious. Since devoting his entire life to the Guardians movies and MCU six years ago, I’ve seen him channel that voice into his work and seen him transform from the guy who made up things to shock people. I saw firsthand as he went from worrying about “softening his edge” for a larger audience to realizing that this “edge” wasn’t as useful of a tool as he thought it was. That his gift for storytelling was something better. I saw that he was more open-hearted than the guy who thought he needed to get a rise out of people by making nasty or offensive jokes (or whatever you choose to call them—I don’t think his bluer material was ever his funniest and neither does Mom). And the best part is, this change in my brother was reflected in the change that the Guardians go through. I’ve heard my brother say many times that when Quill rallies the team with “this is our chance to give a shit”—to care—that it’s the pep talk he himself needed to hear. It’s part of what made working on the Guardians movies such a rewarding experience for the cast. We managed to find ourselves involved in a big-budget superhero movie that was, at its core, deeply personal. That’s a gift. And that’s why it’s good. This isn’t new information, by the way. It’s all stuff that James has explained many times in interviews, in more detail and more eloquently. It’s not some new spin. It’s always been part of this story. So I guess my hope is that fans continue to watch and appreciate the Guardians movies, not despite the fact that the filmmaker used to be kind of a jackass, but because of it. They are, after all, movies about discovering your best self. Working on those movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I’ll always be proud of that. Peace.

A post shared by Sean Gunn (@thejudgegunn) on Jul 21, 2018 at 3:47pm PDT

Imploring the Guardians of the Galaxy fans to not give up on the much-loved franchise, the 44-year-old star concluded: "So I guess my hope is that fans continue to watch and appreciate the Guardians movies, not despite the fact that the filmmaker used to be kind of a jacka*s, but because of it.

"They are, after all, movies about discovering your best self. Working on those movies made my brother a better person, and they made me one too. I'll always be proud of that. Peace."