Yesterday, August, 1, marked the one-year anniversary of Guardians of the Galaxy hitting theaters. To celebrate the occasion, director James Gunn posted a heartfelt message on his Facebook page yesterday, where he thanked the fans for their ongoing support of his hit superhero movie. Take a look at the filmmaker's full statement below.

"One year ago today, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up in the U.S. and many places around the world. The movie massively over-performed that weekend, even by our own expectations, but what meant more to me is how much so many of you, no matter where you were from, took the story and the characters into your hearts. What meant more to me is that "We are Groot" became a rallying cry for unity among friends and families. What meant more to me is that you laughed at the dumb stuff I thought you'd miss, like "Cap'n's gotta teach stuff" and "I was thinking of something else."

What meant more to me is that in our tenth week we were out-performing any comic book film in recent history - not because of the money, but because people were going back to see the film a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more, because they loved it. What mattered to me is that after a lifetime of telling stories and half a lifetime making movies, I felt like you and I, filmmaker and audience, were at the same place at the same time. It mattered to me mostly because I told a story fully with my heart, and you took it into yours. I don't think I can ever explain how much that means to me. It makes every failure I've ever had well worth it.

I get a lot of messages from people saying, 'You made me believe in movies again.' Well, you guys made me believe that what I spent my life doing was worth doing. And you strengthened my belief that nothing's worth doing, if it's not done honestly, and it's not done with love. On this, the one year anniversary of the cinematic Guardians entering our solar system: thank you, thank you, thank you. We really are, truly, honestly Groot.

Love,

James (Gunn)"

Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt also took to his Twitter page yesterday to address the anniversary, stating, "A year ago today #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy opened introducing the whole world to director James Gunn What a visionary. Can't wait to it again." Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has already been slated for release on May 5, 2017, with production on the superhero sequel slated to begin in February 2016. Take a look at Chris Pratt' tweet below, and stay tuned for more updates on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.