Director James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy is a massive hit, grossing $94 million in its opening weekend at the North American box office and setting a new record for the best-ever August debut. But while the money's nice, Gunn doesn't share his characters' mercenary mentality.

In a Facebook post, he says he's much more focused on a different aspect of Guardians of the Galaxy's success:

"I am of course happy with all the film has accomplished box-office-wise. But what touches me the most is that the film I told the folks at Marvel I wanted to make two years ago is the film that you're seeing in theaters today - it's that so many of you seem to be directly EXPERIENCING the film I INTENDED. The cast, the producers, the crew, and I felt like we were making something special while we were making it. But it is very rare that a director's INTENTIONS in creating a film, or a scene, or a character, or a line of dialogue are, seemingly, specifically what is experienced by an audience (not to mention critics!), and that seems to be what has happened here. You have allowed a talking raccoon - for a moment, a minute, or a day - to make you a little more human. And for that, I am profoundly grateful."

Gunn is channeling that gratitude by putting his fingers to the keyboard, working hard on making Guardians of the Galaxy 2 into a reality:

"I've spent this weekend hard at work on the sequel. I couldn't help myself! The results are nice but it's really the creative process I love and that keeps me going. I'm on fire with this thing! The Guardians have so many hardships and heartaches and triumphs ahead of them, and I can't wait to share them with all of you."

The Guardians of the Galaxy sequel arrives July 28, 2017.