After tackling the superhero genre with a low-rent, aggressive film like Super, James Gunn convinced more than a few people that he really “gets” the genre. And, boy, did the right kind of people see that film.

That’s because, in THR‘s words, Marvel are sitting down with the helmer to discuss their quickly-gestating superhero space epic, Guardians of the Galaxy. Rumor has it that Gunn‘s “sensibility and his ability to mix comedy elements with action and horror” is the big turn-on right now — it doesn’t hurt that this is a creative trait which earns comparisons to their current golden boy, Joss Whedon — along with, it seems, an outside-the-box element in picking him for the job. Nobody thought Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh, or even the aforementioned showrunner were “predictable” choices, and that worked out just fine for Marvel.

It’s true, too. Gunn has worked with supernatural material before (Slither), but I’d never have come up with his name for a superhero film about, as the logline says, “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.” Yet here we are.

And, at this point, I’d argue Marvel have done a pretty solid job of picking their helmers; even if the movies are typically passable and forgettable, I can’t fault that on the directorial work. (It’s often the finest aspect, really.) No concerns. I’ll just sit back and wait to see anything real before making a judgement call.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens on August 1st, 2014.

What are your thoughts on Gunn handling Guardians?