Just yesterday, Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman claimed that James Gunn would be back to write and direct the sequel, and now Marvel has made it official. To close out their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, James Gunn and Chris Pratt showed up via video and announced that not only would they be back for the Guardians sequel, but that it already has a release date.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is set to arrive on theaters on July 28th, 2017. The first film hasn’t even hit theaters yet, so this is a huge sign of confidence from Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige. Gunn previously told Badass Digest that he had already signed on to direct another Marvel film, but wasn’t sure if it would be Guardians of the Galaxy 2. He’s stated that he was interested in bringing the Thunderbolts to the big screen, and was even rumored to be directing Avengers 3. While the Avengers threequel rumor could still prove true down the line, Gunn will stick with his ragtag group of criminals-turned-heroes for the time being.
As if the SDCC video wasn’t enough, Gunn then took to Twitter and announced the news himself:
Yes, I’m writing and directing the sequel to #GuardiansoftheGalaxy for theaters July 28 2017. But first go see the first one out next week!
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 27, 2014
We may be marking our calendars for July 28th, 2017, but let’s not forget that we need to see the first installment first, which hits theaters on August 1st, 2014.