With Marvel having two wildly popular superhero teams in their film roster, fans are excited for the possibility of a potential ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Avengers’ crossover—which is why it was kind of disappointing when James Gunn basically shot that idea down a couple of weeks back. But now the director is speaking out to clarify his comments, and there seems to be some hope for a crossover after all ... just maybe not in the way you’re thinking.

One of the great things about James Gunn is how often he takes to Facebook to discuss his work (or voice his opinions about the industry), and that’s just what he did earlier today in a post that clarifies his earlier comments:

All I’ve ever tried to say was the Guardians are an important part of the MCU, and they definitely share an existence with the Avengers and other characters in the MCU. But the week after the movie opened I walked into the Marvel offices, and I sat down with Kevin Feige and some of the other folks at Marvel. We had a long discussion about where the Guardians were headed and what was happening to them. I told them exactly what I wanted to do with the sequel to ‘Guardians,’ and everyone was on board and excited. And, regarding the bigger picture, we all agreed on one thing, and that was to keep huge chunks of the Guardians separate from the Marvel heroes of earth, because they have a whole galaxy to explore. We wanted to use them as a way to make the MCU bigger, not smaller. We wanted to make sure they have their own mythos, as opposed to only one that is intertwined with the earthbound characters. They ARE connected, of course, but that connection would not be the purpose of their stories and fictional lives.

When I’m asked about the Guardians and their future, and whether they’ll meet up with the Avengers I really don’t have all that much to say, because some of it isn’t decided yet, and I don’t want to give away what is decided. So I speak in these general terms. They aren’t things that I’m just saying on the spot, and they aren’t things that have been decided on by me alone. But they are sometimes incredibly general, and that can lead to those words being taken in a lot of different ways.

So there’s still some optimism about a crossover, but don’t assume that we’ll get an entire crossover film with both teams fighting side by side. Gunn’s comments indicate that ‘Guardians’ will be connected to the larger MCU, while remaining focused on their own stories—which is basically how other Marvel films have operated. They’re all connected, and sometimes a character or two pops up in another film, or certain events from one film are mentioned in another.

Gunn also mentions that he isn’t sure if he’ll be around for a potential third or fourth film, and expresses that he can’t really go into detail about his specific plans, or even speak to the things that could happen if and when he leaves the Marvel family. For now, let’s just retain our excitement for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2' and stop worrying about whether or not there will be some giant crossover down the line.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2' hits theaters on May 5, 2017.

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