Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are considered some of the most entertaining and vibrant superhero movies, fueled by the deeply personal touch that director James Gunn gave to them. And while many would consider the Guardians movies to be the nearest and dearest to his heart, Gunn revealed that The Suicide Squad may give them a run for their money.

After his initial firing by Disney from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn was courted by several studios eager for him to bestow his talents on their films. Warner Bros. won out, hiring Gunn to take over from David Ayer to helm the sequel to Suicide Squad. It seemed too obvious a choice — Ayer’s Suicide Squad was heavily inspired by Gunn’s pop culture-savvy take on Guardians of the Galaxy, and now Warner Bros. gets to go to the source. But it wasn’t just Warner Bros. that wanted Gunn on the project, the director confirmed during a Q&A on his Instagram Story feed, that of all the projects he was offered, The Suicide Squad was his first choice.

“I was basically offered whatever I wanted,” Gunn said. “I most wanted to do Squad.”

And it seems that choice has paid off. Gunn has a strong connection with his Guardians of the Galaxy cast and crew — they passionately threw their support behind him after he was fired by Disney — but the director revealed that he had the “most fun” filming The Suicide Squad:

“They’re all challenging. Super was physically brutal – so much movie and so little time to shoot it. [Guardians of the Galaxy] Vol. 1 was scary because I didn’t know if people would get the vibe. [Guardians of the Galaxy] Vol. 2 was the hardest because of my mental state. [The Suicide] Squad is the most complex and biggest but also the most fun so far.”

Gunn has compiled quite a cast for The Suicide Squad, which includes some of the returning stars of Suicide Squad and a few Gunn veterans. Margot Robbie will be reprising her role as Harley Quinn alongside Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg. The star-studded new cast include Pete Davidson, Flula Borg, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Jennifer Holland, Juan Diego Botto, Julio Ruiz, Joaquin Cosio, Tinashe Kajese, Mayling Ng, and prior Gunn collaborators Sean Gunn and Nathan Fillion,