There were a lot of details surrounding Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealed at San Diego Comic Con….
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
All photos courtesy of Andrew Park
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ won’t land in theaters until May 5, 2017 but fans attending San Diego Comic Con got a sneak peak of a lot of new footage as well as a preview of some of the biggest stories surrounding this highly anticipated sequel.
Below are a list of the most important details we learned at the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ panel as part of the gigantic Marvel presentation on Saturday.
PETER QUILL’S FATHER REVEALED
At the top of the list was director James Gunn welcoming Kurt Russell to the stage as the newest cast member and finally revealing who he was playing and why he’s such an important addition to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’.
Kurt Russell is Ego the Living Planet and more importantly he’s also Peter Quill’s father!
There have been rumors for months that Russell was specifically cast to play the father to Chris Pratt’s character in the upcoming sequel and now we know the role he’s playing. Ego the Living Planet originated in Thor No. 132 back in 1966 and has been a recurring part of the Marvel Universe ever since.
Now it probably sounds strange that a living planet is father to Peter Quill, but Gunn says it will all be explained when ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ debuts next year.
“I don’t want to give away too many answers at this time. But what Nova Prime said about Peter’s father at the end of Vol. 1 is certainly true – he is something ancient and unknown. And, as we will discover, being a cosmic being, alone for eons, is perhaps even more lonely than being the universe’s sole talking raccoon,” Gunn said.
“I can’t wait for you guys to see Kurt Russell bring this character to life onscreen. It has been a rapturous experience creating Ego with him. We have both pushed ourselves as far as we can go in making him real, and grounded, and emotionally centered.”
THE RAVAGERS ARE A BIG PART OF VOL. 2
The group once led by Michael Rooker’s character Yondu have a major presence in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ and there new leader Taserface will be a serious antagonist during the sequel.
The Ravagers actually made an appearance in full make up at the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ panel along with Michael Rooker dressed in full Yondu gear sporting a “big ass fin” on his head. The fin was actually a major part of the scene that Marvel debuted at Comic Con as the Ravagers captured Yondu and Rocket Raccoon while they were trying to retrieve that piece of weaponry from the ship.
In the scene, Baby Groot ends up rescuing the pair after retrieving the fin and handing it back over to Yondu, who then unleashes the full power of the weapon while staging a grand escape from the prison cells after being captured by the Ravagers.
AYESHA IS THE OTHER MAJOR VILLAIN IN THE MOVIE
Played by Elizabeth Debicki, Ayesha is “the golden High Priestess of a genetically-perfect people called the Sovereign. She’s not a woman to be screwed with – she, and her entire world, are extraordinarily deadly.”
It appeared from the trailer that debuted at the panel that the Guardians are contracted by Ayesha for some kind of mission but judging by the fact that she’s serving as a major antagonist this time around, whatever they were supposed to do didn’t end well.
NEBULA IS BACK
Gamora’s half sister didn’t die at the end of the original ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie and now she’s back with a vengeance. Gunn teases that she will have a major role in the sequel, although he didn’t give many details on what she’ll be doing back this time around after failing to appease her adopted father Thanos.
“As Karen Gillan knows – because I told her during my first meeting with her – GotG Vol. 1 was just a glimpse at a character I had major plans for in the future of the Guardians-verse. I did not lie,” Gunn said.
SYLVESTER STALLONE JOINS ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2’
One big reveal during the trailer that debuted at Comic Con was Sylvester Stallone popping up during one scene in a heated conversation with Michael Rooker’s character Yondu. Gunn wouldn’t reveal which character Stallone is playing, but he’ll definitely make an appearance in the movie.
FIRST LOOK AT MANTIS
The newest Guardian of the Galaxy to join the team is Mantis — played by Pom Klementieff — and she had a similar look to her counterpart from the comic books. It seems she will also have a major role in the upcoming movie although the footage shown of her at Comic Con was minimal at the time.
TWO NEW SONGS FEATURED DURING ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 PANEL
Everybody knows the music in the first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movie was a huge part of what made that film so awesome and it sounds like the sequel will pick up right where the original left off.
James Gunn specifically noted that neither of the songs featured in the clips shown at Comic Con will necessarily make it onto the Vol. 2 soundtrack but they were great compliments to the footage shown either way. The songs featured were:
“Come A Little Bit Closer” by Jay and the Americans
“The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac
MORE REVEALS COMING
Gunn promised that the reveals shown at San Diego Comic Con were just the tip of the iceberg for what he has planned for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 so don’t get too disappointed that you already know the identity of Peter Quill’s father.
“I also can’t wait for all of you to see this movie. I really, really love it. Never has anything I’ve done flowed as smoothly as this project, and been so true and consistent from the first day I started writing it until today, as we edit it and create our visual effects,” Gunn said.
“And, worry not. Although you’ve learned a lot today, we have countless more surprises for you as we get closer to our release date. And even more of them in the movie itself.”
Now who’s ready for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ to land in theaters already?!?
