Excellent news, Marvel fans! With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 just about to hit theaters and the early buzz being very good, many have been wondering about the third installment and whether or not director James Gunn will return when that movie inevitably happens. Today that has been cleared up as the director himself has declared that he will be back to both write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The director took to his Facebook page in order to make the announcement ahead of the press tour for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This is a question that writter and director James Gunn has had to address in the past and his answer, up until now, has always been uncertain. But his love for the characters and the world that he has created trumped any trepidations he may have had. Here is what he had to say about it in his Facebook post.

"So, after many months of ruminations and discussions, I know the answer. 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."

This is good news for many reasons. For one, that says a lot about how good Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 probably is. If James Gunn had any doubts about what he was able to accomplish with the sequel, he would likely be less certain about returning. But announcing that he is coming back for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is a sign that we're in for a very special treat when Vol. 2 hits theaters here in a few short weeks. The movie scored a perfect 100% at a test screening not long ago, which very rarely happens. James Gunn was the driving force behind the first Guardians of the Galaxy as well, which was something that was initially considered a huge risk for Marvel Studios. Now it is one of the most beloved movies in the MCU. While the director couldn't reveal much about the third movie in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, he did give some idea of what to expect.

"Much of what's happened in the MCU for the past ten or so years has been leading, in a big way, to the Avengers' Infinity War. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will happen after all that. 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 ten years and beyond. I will be working side-by-side with Kevin Feige and the gang to help design where these stories go, and make sure the future of the Marvel Cosmic Universe is as special and authentic and magical as what we have created so far. I promise you, the fans, I'll do it all with integrity and love and respect for the characters."

There is no word on a possible release date for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but Kevin Feige did say last year that revealing any titles that will be released after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 could be venturing into spoiler territory. So we may not get that info for a little while. As for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? You won't have to wait that long as the movie is set for release on May 5. You can check out James Gunn's entire announcement post for yourself below.