Among the information he was able to sneak through Marvel’s (likely) extensive non-disclosure agreements were the fact that there would be “at least one” new character in the film, that Peter Quill (AKA Star-Lord) will be the only earthling in the film, and that there will likely be more releases in the franchise beyond Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — provided the new film does well enough at the box office.
Live Q&A
Posted by James Gunn on Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Guardians of the Galaxy came out in August of 2014, and proved to be one of the most exciting film releases of the year. Based on the Marvel comic book series of the same name, the story centers around an unlikely cast of heroes who banded together to save the galaxy after a powerful artifact makes it’s way into the wrong hands.
The film franchise, should it continue much further, will probably overlap with Marvel’s Avengers series — at least in theory. The character of Thanos (Josh Brolin) that viewers saw in the first Guardians film, for example, is set to play a significant role in the third and fourth installments of The Avengers. But the plot for the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie is said to remain separated from Thanos’ brewing war with the Avengers.
The new film begins shooting in Atlanta in February, with 10 months of work planned. Stars Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Copper, Bencio Del Toro, Karen Gillan, and Dave Bautista will all be reprising their roles from the first film.
Gunn also confirmed yet another Stan Lee cameo, to follow up his brief scene in an alien city in the first film. The 92-year-old comic book creator has appeared onscreen in some brief capacity or another in almost every Marvel film released over the past three decades, sometimes even in animated form.
Finally excited to get a question he could legally speak more about, the director seemed extremely delighted to have Lee back on screen again.
“I love Stan Lee. He’s a great man. He’s one of my favorite people in the world. I still get giddy like a school girl whenever I’m around him, and he’s also nice to me, so why would I not want him in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2?”
