A month ago, there was speculation that ‘Super’ director James Gunn was being tapped to helm Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. Now, we can confirm that he will officially rewrite and direct Marvel’s team of intergalactic protectors.

According to his official Facebook page (via Collider), Gunn posted this statement:

“Until now I haven’t said anything, because I’m trying to be less expulsive about this project than I am about the rest of my life. But last night I got the go-ahead from Kevin Feige to let you all know that, yes, indeed, I am rewriting and directing Guardians of the Galaxy. As a lifelong lover of Marvel comics, space epics, AND raccoons, this is the movie I’ve been waiting to make since I was nine years old.”

He went on to say that he’s incredibly pleased with the collaborative efforts of Joss Whedon, Kevin Feige, and the rest of the Marvel team and that they’re “committed to bringing you something majestic, beautiful, and unique”.

Now that the news has been made official, I’m excited to see, as Whedon put it, Gunn’s “very twisted take on [The Guardians], [that] all comes from a real love for the material”.

Elsewhere in the realm of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the villain of the film has been “confirmed”. According to Collider, Jim Starlin, the creator of Thanos, declared at Montreal Comic Con that his creation would be appearing in both ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘The Avengers 2’ as the main villain. I say “confirmed” because while Starlin may have said it and it would make sense based on the history of the Guardians and the Mad Titan’s appearance at the end of ‘The Avengers’, it seems way to early to confirm something like that. Yes, it’s a pretty good educated guess, but don’t be too surprised if things change between now and 2015. That being said, it’ll be great to see how Gunn and Whedon utilize Thanos if he is in fact the main villain of both films.

Naturally, Marvel has declared “no comment” on this matter, so there’s no official confirmation of this yet, but it’s safe to say that we will be seeing Thanos in Marvel’s Phase Two at some point.

James Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ will hit theaters on August 1st, 2014, while Joss Whedon’s ‘The Avengers 2’ will open on May 1st, 2015.

What do you think about these two bits of news? Will James Gunn deliver another delightful Marvel movie? Are you excited to see Thanos for more than a few seconds? Share your thoughts in the comments below!