James Gunn will write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is one of our most anticipated movies of 2017. It comes out May 5, 2017, but there’s already some information on the sequel. James Gunn previously confirmed there will be a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and he took to Facebook earlier today to confirm he will be the writer and the director of that film.

Here’s the key portion of his statement in which he answers the question, “What’s the deal with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and are you going to direct?”

I could save this answer for the first, random interviewer to ask me during the press junket but instead I thought I’d share it with the most important people in the Guardiansverse – you, the fans, who have been so incredibly supportive and enthusiastic over the past five years, it has moved me to tears on a regular basis.

So, yes, I’m returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

In the end, my love for Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Star-Lord, Yondu, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula – and some of the other forthcoming heroes – goes deeper than you guys can possibly imagine, and I feel they have more adventures to go on and things to learn about themselves and the wonderful and sometimes terrifying universe we all inhabit. And, like in both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, we will work on creating the story that goes beyond what you expect.

Gunn also teased that the third Guardians movie will function as the capstone of a trilogy that concludes the story of this particular iteration of the team.

Here’s James Gunn’s full Facebook statement:

Keeping Gunn around for the third film should give the Guardians movies a cohesive and consistent flavor that’s different from the rest of the MCU. So much has been written about the MCU movies lacking a personality, but the first Guardians movie was something of a combo breaker–sort of like The Goonies in space. Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok also looks so much its own animal, which gives me hope that Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther will also have a distinct look and feel. I’d like to think Gunn’s success on Guardians is what helped push the MCU away from a flat “TV on the big screen” execution to something a little bit more voice/director driven.

Wonder if there’s a third Awesome Mix in the works already.