Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn offered to help a Florida State University student after she shared images on social media of how raccoons had wrecked her home. According to a series of tweets posted by the Ph.D. student Haley Iliff, a raccoon first “fell through” the ceiling in her bedroom and then continued to wreak havoc around her home, with the help of four accomplices.
The ordeal began when the student returned from a trip, only to discover the animal in her room. The first image she shared shows the innocent-looking raccoon sitting in her closet, with a gaping hole in the ceiling clearly visible. Gunn shared the post and wrote, “Let me know how much damage they’ve done and I’ll make a donation to help cover the costs.” The Suicide Squad director also added that he had followed her, so she could send him a direct message.
Gunn has a special connection to the animals, considering Rocket Raccoon is one of the major characters in his Guardians trilogy, and he joked that helping Iliff is the least he could do “on behalf of my masked brethren.” But that’s not all. Gunn has been an advocate for animal rights and has supported organizations that help raccoons in the past. His love for animals and pets is constantly displayed in multiple social media posts and images. Gunn even posed on the red carpet during the premiere of 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy with the raccoon Oreo, who is the muse for Rocket.
Iliff revealed in her tweets that the Humane Society was unable to help her because it appeared as if the raccoon was a mother trying to protect her children, who could potentially have been living on the roof. She went on to share further images of the damage the raccoon had caused, especially after it was joined by four others who seemed to have slipped in through the hole. The final tweet in the series, which Iliff refers to as the “raccoon exodus,” shows the five raccoons being carried away in a crate. It is unclear at this point if she has accepted Gunn’s help.
While most appreciated Gunn’s thoughtful action of helping the student, others obviously tried to make the most of the situation in a hilarious manner. Some fans started creating fake situations involving raccoons and talking trees in order to get Gunn’s assistance.
One comment that caught Gunn’s attention was from Twitter user @DJBguile, who claimed that a raccoon had stolen his free tickets to the filmmaker's upcoming movie The Suicide Squad and a voucher that was his only chance of a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Joke’s on him, though, as Gunn immediately responded by saying that he wouldn’t be covering the damage caused by all the raccoons in the country.
Guardians of the Galaxy and Vol. 2 are now available on Disney Plus.
Source: James Gunn/Twitter