‘Super’ director James Gunn in talks for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’?

It's not easy being No. 1. It appears as though Marvel Studios has created a bit of a problem for themselves: The enormous critical and financial success of "The Avengers" has set an incredibly high bar for all future Marvel comic book movies. Talk about first world problems!

It's real issue, though. Any director who takes on a film for the comic-book-publisher-turned-movie studio is bound to be judged by the standards that have already been set. To ask a filmmaker to follow in Joss Whedon's billion dollar footsteps is no easy task, but there are plenty of filmmakers out there - directors who were practically born and raised on comic books - that would love to get their hands on the next big Marvel movie, regardless of the pressure or stakes.

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The studio has, so far, done a very good job of hiring these folks to work on their films. Scoring long-time Iron Man fan Jon Favreau ("Cowboys &Aliens") to helm the first two "Iron Man" movies was a coup, as is enlisting avowed Ant-Man enthusiast Edgar Wright ("Hot Fuzz," "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World") to steer the standalone movie of the same name.

But until now, there was one fairly well-known comic book geek director who had yet to be called up to the big leagues by the house that Stan Lee built: "Super" director James Gunn. According to The Hollywood Reporter, though, Gunn's luck may have just changed. THR is reporting that Gunn is currently in talks with Marvel to direct "Guardians of the Galaxy," the least-known comic book property amongst the recent slate of superhero movies announced by the studio at San Diego Comic Con last month.

The director of the horror satire "Slither" and the masked vigilante sendup "Super" is probably a very good bet for "Guardians." Though Gunn hasn't enjoyed anywhere near the same level of success as Whedon to date, the two filmmakers are definitely cut from same dorky cloth. They've both got rabid cult followings, they've both used "Castle" star Nathan Fillion as a leading man, they both imbue their works with a certain level of humour - though Gunn's brand of funny is inarguably much more twisted than that of the "Avengers" director.

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The real problem, though, is that on paper, "Guardians of the Galaxy" sounds pretty out there, even by Marvel movie standards. The comic books of the same name followed cosmic super-team dedicated to fighting Thanos (the big bad seen in the end credits of "The Avengers"). Made up of a giant tree, an undead warrior, a human-alien hybrid mercenary, a genetically engineered raccoon, and an alien assassin, the Guardians are going to be a hard sell on the big screen.

The studio will need a deft hand in the director's chair, someone who can poke fun at the material at times but also treat it with the required seriousness when necessary. Luckily for Marvel, Gunn has proven that he's capable of that sort of thing with his previous work, so if the studio is indeed intent on hiring him for "Guardians," then they won't have much to worry about.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" is slated for an Aug. 1, 2014 release.