Disney

1:18 PM PT -- James is having one hell of a Friday, it's also been confirmed that he will direct the next "Suicide Squad" film in Sept.

1:04 PM PT -- James just released a statement, saying, "I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months. I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be."

"I deeply appreciate Disney's decision and I am excited to continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all. I have been, and continue to be incredibly humbled by your love and support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Love to you all."

James Gunn is back in the good graces of Disney and Marvel, because he's being reinstated as the writer and director of 'Guardians of the Galaxy 3' ... TMZ has confirmed.

It's sweet redemption for James, who was fired by Disney last summer over a bunch of old, terribly offensive tweets -- including musings on AIDS, the Holocaust, rape and 9/11.

Our sources say Disney and Marvel honchos decided to rehire James a few months ago, following deliberations and meetings between Gunn and Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn.

We're told Alan reversed course and brought James back into the fold because of Gunn's public apology and general handling of the controversy.

As we reported ... the 'GotG' cast threw their full support behind James after he was canned, and it had to help his plight to get the backing of Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel and Zoe Saldana. The stars vouched for James' character, accepted his apology and hinted Disney only fired him out of fear of public outcry.

James is adding to an already busy schedule ... he's gotta finish up "Suicide Squad 2" before completing the 'Guardians' trilogy.

Carly Schroeder's left Hollywood for the Army, because she's on a life mission to help out those who desperately need it ... and feels it's time to walk the walk.

The "Lizzie McGuire" actress joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss her decision to enlist, which wasn't made lightly. She tells us she got a lot of support from her family, though ... especially her dad, a former Green Beret, and her younger brother, a Marine.

Carly says she's passionate about giving aid to veterans and the homeless, and rescuing human trafficking victims. The best way to do both, according to her -- enlist in the Army and learn some skills to make it happen.

The "Mean Creek" star's been accepted into Officer Candidate School and has already begun training -- a lot of training -- to improve her skills. Ultimately, she plans to get into military intelligence, which is crucial for combating trafficking.

Danny DeVito hit the deck in Mexico ... tripping and falling flat on his face while trying to climb some stairs.

Danny is in Mexico City promoting Disney's "Dumbo" movie, and his scary tumble happened Tuesday during a news conference with entertainment reporters.

As you can see ... Danny, who plays ringmaster Max Medici in the new flick, tripped up a stair as he made his way onstage, landing with a thud. The stunned crowd gasped, and the 74-year-old needed help getting to his feet, but he eventually let everyone know he's alright.

Danny told all the reporters not to print any pictures of his fall. Pretty sure he's joking ... he knows the game by this point.

Danny's got a big role in Tim Burton's latest work... which, we gotta admit, looks pretty cool.

We're guessing this isn't the spring break trip Danny had in mind, but we're glad he's okay.

Daniel Cormier wasn't interested in watching Jon Jones fight Anthony Smith in person on Saturday ... he had other things on his mind -- like taking his family to Disneyland!!!

Despite the crazy feud between the two, DC tells us he wasn't going to let Jones dictate his weekend -- and instead opted to take his wife and kids to the Magic Kingdom in Anaheim, CA -- 260 miles from the Jones fight in Vegas.

There was a good reason for the trip ... DC's daughter, Marquita, turned 7 years old and the UFC champ wanted to do something special for her birthday.

Of course, while Cormier was enjoying the Happiest Place on Earth, Jones put a beating on Anthony Smith at UFC 235 ... boosting his official record to an impressive 24-1-1.

Jones doesn't acknowledge his 1 loss -- because it was due to a disqualification from an illegal elbow in a fight he was otherwise dominating.

It was almost deja vu for Jones this weekend -- he hit Smith with an illegal knee and was THIIIS close to being DQ'd again ... but Smith took the honorable path out and opted to continue the fight.

Jones won in a unanimous decision.

Cormier -- the reigning UFC heavyweight champ -- and Dana White say he's gunning to set up a 3rd fight with Jones before he hangs it up for good.

DC lost the first time he fought Jones and was KO'd in the rematch -- but that 2nd loss was later ruled a "no contest" because Jones tested positive for a banned substance.

So, will DC agree to one last brawl with his arch enemy?

Halsey and Yungblud looked like the happiest people on the Happiest Place on Earth!!!

The couple hit up Disneyland Friday for a super fun date. In addition to hopping on the carousel in Fantasyland, Halsey posed with Minnie Mouse. They also jumped on the Buzz Lightyear ride and then took a ride on the Matterhorn.

But, wait ... there was more. When they were done with rides, they dined at the Blue Bayou restaurant.

Jenna Dewan's boyfriend is stepping up to the plate, proving he's daddy material by enjoying/surviving a day at Disneyland with her 5-year-old girl.

The actress hit up the Happiest Place on Earth Saturday with BF Steve Kazee and Everly, her daughter with Channing Tatum. Everly got the cush stroller ride around the park with potential-future-stepdad Steve on push duty.

Jenna, Steve and Everly seemed to have a great time riding rides and goofing around, and looked totally comfortable with their new family dynamic ... in the wake of Jenna and Channing's split.

That's not to say Channing and Jenna can't get together from time to time for the sake of their daughter -- they did exactly that this past Halloween, posing together for a selfie while taking Everly trick-or-treating.

Successful post-divorce co-parenting has become a thing in Hollywood -- Chris Pratt and Anna Faris most recently got it down pat ... and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have been at it for years.

We're all here for this trend.

Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney's on board with Elsa from "Frozen" being a positive gay character for kids, but if that's not how it plays out ... he thinks Disney should -- and will -- make it happen soon.

We got the openly gay New York Representative on Capitol Hill Wednesday, who gave us his take on speculation that "Frozen 2" will reveal Elsa is gay and has a girlfriend. He's definitely down with it, but says it's not necessary ... for this film anyway.

Maloney believes the common Disney movie themes go hand in hand with the stories of so many folks in the LGBT community, so it's time to make a major gay character happen. He adds ... the kids will dig it.

The congressman also has a funny take on Hermey, the elf from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" ... even though he doesn't get his name quite right.

We can see it now -- "Hermey" ... coming to theaters in 2020.

If Will Smith could grant wishes, there's a great chance "Aladdin" fans would wish to unsee his portrayal of the Genie ... 'cause Disney fans are PISSED.

The new trailer to the live action "Aladdin" movie dropped Sunday during the Grammys and fans finally got a chance to see what Will's gonna look like decked out as the blue Genie ... and it's safe to say practically nobody was impressed.

One fan tweeted, "It turns out that Will Smith's Aladdin Genie will haunt my nightmares." Another person said, "Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis."

It gets worse ... "I just stepped outside and ... how are there not crashed cars? How are there not people walking around in a daze? Have they not seen the Will Smith genie yet? Dare I show them?"

Will's gotta feel like ... damned if I do, damned if I don't. Remember, back in December we got a glimpse of what Will's gonna look like as the Genie character but everyone dragged Disney for not making him blue. After the trailer dropped, Will posted a video and picture on Instagram and captioned it, "I told y'all I was gon' be Blue!! Y'all need to trust me more often!"

Some might argue he looked TOO blue. Safe to say everyone loves it when Will's bad ... but not this kinda bad.

The happiest people on Earth are now at the Happiest Place on Earth ... 'cause Tom Brady and Julian Edelman have made it to Disney World after winning the Super Bowl!!!

It's an annual tradition ... the big game's top players try like hell to fight off their hangovers and sleep depravity to make their way to Mickey's theme park to celebrate winning the Lombardi Trophy.

This time ... the Pats' MVP (Edelman) decided to bring his QB along -- and they're clearly having a freakin' blast!!!

The two have already hit up the Toy Story ride -- and had a great debate over who's Woody and who's Buzz Lightyear.

They also got a little lightsaber-training in ... and you'll never guess which guy chose the dark side's red saber!!!

Edelman and Brady will almost certainly be grand marshals in Mickey's parade through the Magic Kingdom later today as well.

Snow White isn't heading for a fairy tale ending this time around ... because a woman dressed as the famous Disney character got shoved in the back of a police cruiser after cops say she was way too belligerent begging for money.

Someone shot this video of Snow White getting busted for aggressive panhandling Thursday afternoon on Hollywood Blvd., and the photog clearly thinks the LAPD is playing the role of the witch.

It's kinda funny ... there's a Batman character standing idly by as cops handle the situation. Guess the Dark Knight has a soft spot for Disney princesses.

We've seen panhandlers get aggressive on Hollywood Blvd. before ... back in 2011, a man dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants started squaring up with 2 women!!!

Disney is making strides by introducing its first openly gay character in the upcoming "Jungle Cruise" movie, which will feature a big coming out scene ... but there's one important step that's missing.

A test screening of the film took place last week -- it'll get a wide release in 2020 -- and sources who attended tell TMZ Disney avoids using the word "gay" when Jack Whitehall's character, McGregor, comes out to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

We're told, at one point, McGregor has a heart-to-heart with The Rock's lead character, Frank, about dating history ... and McGregor makes it very clear he isn't into ladies. Keep in mind, this flick isn't set in modern times.

McGregor explains to "Frank" his family had tried arranging marriages for him with several women, but he didn't wanna marry any of them -- or any woman, for that matter. He also says Emily Blunt's character, Lily (his sister in the movie), was the only one in his fam to accept him and support him regardless of the "person" he loves.

We're told the scene was well-received by the audience, but the glaring omission of a pronoun to describe McGregor's love interest did not go unnoticed.

Unclear if the scene will make the final cut -- but ya gotta imagine it will, given how significant a move it is for Disney to include a gay character in an action blockbuster.

There was already backlash from the LGBTQ community over Whitehall's casting earlier this summer -- he's a straight guy playing a gay character -- and now, it's obvious Disney's watching its step even closer as it tiptoes into the 21st Century.

Heidi Klum, her kids and her man all hit up Disneyland, getting into the Christmas spirit by busting out their Santa hats and dance moves at the happiest place on earth.

Heidi, bf Tom Kaulitz and her son Johan looked super cute as they traded in Mickey Mouse ears for matching Santa hats Sunday in Anaheim. But, Heidi didn't totally abandon Mickey ... he was all over her jean jacket!

The German super couple -- Tom plays lead guitar for Tokio Hotel -- must've found some mistletoe, because they started making out in a crowd! PDA is kind of their thing at Disneyland.

Disney didn't just commit cultural appropriation when it locked down the rights to "Hakuna Matata," the company actually stole the saying from an incredibly popular Kenyan band ... this according to the group's frontman.

John Katana is on the ground in Africa, and the singer tells us Them Mushrooms popularized the phrase way back in 1980, when the band released its hit song, "Jambo Bwana."

In Swahili, "Hakuna Matata" means "no problem" or "no worries" ... and you probably know it from 'Lion King' characters Timon and Pumbaa.

The original song went platinum in Kenya in the 1980s, but John says he and his bandmates didn't understand copyright laws back then, allowing Disney to swoop in and trademark the phrase in '94, coinciding with its movie release.

Disney is releasing a new 'Lion King' next summer, and the increased spotlight has led to a growing petition accusing the company of "colonialism and robbery" ... while calling on Disney to abandon its trademark. The petition has over 147,000 signatures.

12/16 -- Disney has fired Stoney Westmoreland after he was arrested for trying to entice a minor into sex. In a statement, Disney says ... "Given the nature of the charges and our responsibility for the welfare of employed minors, we have released him from his recurring role and he will not be returning to work on the series which wraps production on its third season next week."

Westmoreland starred in a recurring role as Henry "Ham" Mack on the Disney Channel series "Andi Mack," playing the lead star's grandfather. Season 3 is set to premiere in 2019.

Stoney Westmoreland, a 48-year-old Disney Channel actor, has been arrested in Utah for allegedly arranging online to have sex with someone he believed was 13.

According to online records, Westmoreland -- who played the grandfather on "Andi Mack" -- was arrested Friday for allegedly enticing a minor by internet or text, and dealing in materials harmful to a minor. Both are felonies.

A local report by KSL cites court docs stating the actor began communicating with an online user he believed was just 13, on an app used for dating and setting up sexual encounters.

Westmoreland reportedly asked the person to engage in acts with him and to send him nude photos. The report cites an affidavit claiming Westmoreland sent the person pornographic images.

The Salt Lake City Police Department and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force reportedly arrested Westmoreland Friday when he used a ride-sharing service to pick up the person he believed was 13.

Westmoreland has also appeared in episodes of popular TV shows like "Scandal," "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul" and "NCIS."

"Andi Mack" is filmed at Wasatch Junior High in Salt Lake City.

Kim Kardashian West took her kids to the furthest place from Twitter on the Earth -- less than 24 hours after Kanye unleashed on Drake -- Disneyland!!!

Kim was spotted with North and Saint Friday at the Mouse House. Kardashian was joined by Kris and Kourtney ... who were there to celebrate Reign and Mason Disick's birthdays.

The crowds, rides and characters were likely a nice break from the drama that unraveled on Twitter between Kanye and Drake.

As we reported -- Kanye claimed Drake threatened him and his fam with physical violence, and hours later Kim doubled down and warned Drizzy not to come near, saying, "Drake Never threaten my husband or our family. He paved the way for there to be a Drake."

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger know how to kick things up for Sunday Funday ... with a trip to Disneyland Chris' son will surely never forget.

Chris, Katherine and Jack looked like one huge happy family at the Happiest Place on Earth ... hitting up the theme park Sunday with some friends. Chris and Katherine showed some PDA, and Jack no doubt looked like he had the time of his life.

They jumped on Toy Story Midway Mania!, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mountain. And, don't let anyone convince you otherwise -- no trip to Disneyland is complete without watching the fireworks.

Nobody -- and we mean NOBODY -- seemed more pumped about the fireworks than Chris. Dude was fist pumping like he had just scored the game-winning TD in the Super Bowl. Talk about being fired up.