The Golden Age of superhero movies is truly upon us. With Christopher Nolan’s revolutionary The Dark Knight raising the bar, and Hollywood renaissance men like Jon Favreau (Iron Man), and Kenneth Branagh (Thor) attempting to take the once stagnant genre to new heights, our beloved crime fighters seem to be in good hands. The studios finally seem to understand that no matter the source material–Marvel or Marquez–smart people make smart movies.

In perhaps one of the greatest leaps of faith to date, Columbia Pictures has tapped current Corduroy cover boy Michel Gondry to direct Green Hornet, the long-gestating big screen adaptation of the popular masked avenger. Already something of a buzzed-about oddity–the film was written by and stars Seth Rogen as the titular character–the addition of the whimsical French director will only add to the escalating whirlwind of hype surrounding the film. Better known for his surreal, DIY aesthetic, the idea of Gondry helming a big-budget actioner is by no means conventional, but that’s why it works so well.

After flexing his creative muscle with the adventurous fairy tales Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, we can’t wait to see what the dizzyingly inventive enfant terrible has in store for us this time. Although the movie is about a man in a mask who beats up bad guys, Gondry will be the only one on set with superpowers.

-Daniel Barna