Among all of the reboots and sequels involving superhero properties being made these days, Marvel recently announced a brand new title based on the comic series Guardians of the Galaxy (with Ant Man also expected to be made official soon).

Not wasting any time, Marvel Studios seem to have found their director of choice for the project, James Gunn. According to sources, Gunn has entered into negotiations to helm the movie, which is currently set for release on August 1, 2014.

Gunn is best known for outstanding horror-comedy Slither, which starred Nathan Fillion as a small town sheriff dealing with a bit of an angry killer alien slug problem, and the brutally funny Super, which starred Rainn Wilson as a normal everyday guy who decides to become a homemade superhero. Gunn is also known for PG Porn, and is a well-established writer as well, penning the above mentioned titles, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, and the video game Lollipop Chainsaw.

Marvel was drawn to Gunn for his undeniable skill at fusing good comedy with action and horror, quite similarly to the great Joss Whedon, who just delivered the studio one of the biggest movies of all time in The Avengers.

Not much is known about the movie, but it is said to follow a U.S. pilot who finds himself in the middle of a massive galactic conflict and has to join up with a group of futuristic ex-cons who are in possession of something that everyone wants to get their hands on.

Chris McCoy is currently rewriting a script first penned by Nicole Perlman. The script not currently being written by Gunn makes me a little nervous. He’s the kind of director that’s that much better when working from his own material; having to direct from someone else’s script could be risky.

What do you think of James Gunn directing Guardians of the Galaxy?

[Source: Heat Vision]