MOVIES

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

Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

James Gunn is giving his fans the galactic hat trick.

James Gunn attends the premiere of 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' in Tokyo. He will write and direct a third 'Guardians,' too.

The writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy and its forthcoming sequel (in theaters May 5) will return to helm a third movie featuring Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel). Gunn announced the news on his Facebook page Monday.

He wrote that his love for his space 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 added that it was a hard decision that he had to figure out in his heart if he should do.

Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are set for 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,' written and directed by a returning James Gunn.

"There is a history in Hollywood of haphazard endings to trilogies, and I didn’t want to become a part of that dishonorable tradition of pretending the third one doesn’t exist," the director wrote. "I couldn’t do it for the money, and I couldn’t do it because it was what other people wanted me to do. I needed to do it because it was what I needed to do. I have never made choices in my career based on anything other than passion and love for the stories and characters, and I didn’t want to start now."

He teased that Vol. 3 will arrive after next year's Avengers: Infinity War (which is set to feature some Guardians characters): "It will conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next 10 years and beyond," he wrote. Gunn also thanked Marvel Studios and Disney for "cheerleading innovation and the pure love of movies" from the beginning.

"I wake up every day pinching myself that they’d allow this punk-rock kid from Missouri to help create this wonderful universe, and to not only allow but encourage creative freedom while doing so. I can’t fricking wait to get started."