James Gunn will Likely Direct 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

The Guardians of the Galaxy film is slowly coming together, and hopefully soon we'll have a pretty reasonable idea of what we might be getting. Today, reports have indicated that James Gunn, director of Slither and Super, is in talks to direct the film. Marvel is fairly confident at this point that Gunn will sign on, although they're also eyeing Peyton Reed (Yes Man) and Ryan Fleck/Anna Boden (Half Nelson) as potential backups.

Heat Vision is claiming that Marvel is attracted to Gunn's ability to mix comedy, action, and horror. I have yet to see Slither (although I've heard good things), but Super happens to be one of my all-time favorite "superhero" movies. It's Kick-Ass with a heart and a point (don't get me wrong, I also love Kick-Ass), and I can definitely understand Marvel's attraction to Gunn's unique sense of tone. I do have to wonder how the heck he's going to balance a Marvel-sized budget on a galactic storytelling scale, but hey, I'm all for giving Gunn a shot.

We previously reported that Guardians of the Galaxy will be, "about a U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants." That certainly sounds like it could lend itself to an off-beat sense of humor.

Guardians of the Galaxy is set for an August 1, 2014 relese date.