It’s been speculated that James Gunn was going to direct Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, but in an interview with Joss Whedon he seems to confirm that Gunn has definitely struck a deal to direct the interstellar gang of superheroes.

For those who can’t view the MTV video, here’s a transcript of the main points:

“James [Gunn] is what makes me think it will work. I myself was sort of like, ‘Well, I liked Rocket Raccoon as a kid, but I’m not sure how that plays [to a wider audience].’ And then they said, ‘Well, we’re thinking about using James Gunn.’ And I said, ‘Oh, then no, you’re fine.’ He is so off the wall, and so crazy, but so smart, such a craftsman and he builds from his heart. He loves the raccoon. Needs the raccoon. This is the guy who wrote ‘The Specials.’ People don’t understand how influential that movie was about heroes, about taking heroes and making them mundane. And [he directed] ‘Super.’ Gunn has barely started, but already has a very twisted take on it, but it all comes from a real love for the material. It’s going to be hard for the humans to keep up,” said Whedon. “I know he’s going to come from left field and I’m going to go, ‘What?’ And then, ‘Of course, why didn’t I think of that?’ And then I’m going to beat him!”

Whedon seems to confirm through an explanation that he’s only seen a little portion of the script that James Gunn has worked on for Guardians of the Galaxy, so he didn’t want to say how he felt about the script because he feels Gunn will “come from left field” and surprise him. Disney has not confirmed that James Gunn is actually the director for Guardians and considering the film isn’t set to hit theaters until 2014, they probably aren’t in a rush to do so – but this is definitely a sign that Gunn is working on the film’s script and could be in the beginning stages of pre-production.

The unofficial plot for Guardians: “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.”

Guardians of the Galaxy is expected to hit theaters August 1, 2013.