"Guardians of the Galaxy 3" is on the horizon — and James Gunn will be behind the helm once again.

Gunn made the surprise announcement that he's writing and directing the third movie on his Facebook page. He's preparing to embark on a press tour for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," which opens in theaters May 5 and decided to answer the question that he'll probably be asked frequently by journalists.

"I'm returning to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," Gunn wrote in a post.

"In the end, my love for Rocket, Groot, Gamora, Star-Lord, Yondu, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula – and some of the other forthcoming heroes – goes deeper than you guys can possibly imagine, and I feel they have more adventures to go on and things to learn about themselves and the wonderful and sometimes terrifying universe we all inhabit. And, like in both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, we will work on creating the story that goes beyond what you expect."

Stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel are all likely to return for the third movie, as well.

Gunn also noted that "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" will launch Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Phase 2 concludes with "Avengers: Infinity War"). It will "help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond," Gunn said.