Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel and director James Gunn have already started looking at actors for the sequel to last year's surprise hit Guardians of the Galaxy, due for release in May 2017. It may be too soon to expect any immediate announcements, but the coming months should give us a better idea which new characters will be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the second installment. At least one more member is likely to join the team, and Gunn has said he hopes to have "at least two women in the next iteration of the Guardians." That would be a welcome change for a team with just one woman right now, Gamora, and four characters that present as male --- but which women from Marvel's roster of cosmic characters would fans like to see join the team? Here's your chance to weigh in!

While the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is partying together on the set of Captain America: Civil War, the Guardians of the Galaxy must be feeling a little lonely. While they haven’t yet been integrated into the larger Marvel universe, director James Gunn is ready to expand the Guardians universe. During a Periscope chat with fans yesterday, Gunn revealed that he’s already in talks with an actor about joining Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for a major new role, a new Guardian.

Little, potted Groot dancing his branches off was arguably the most memorable moment from the 2014 surprise superhero hit Guardians of the Galaxy. Many companies sought to capture the moment with a figure or collectible, but none of them were as movie-accurate as Hot Toys' 1/4 scale Little Groot.

Did you know that Doctor Doom is not a real doctor? Or that Marvel gave Optimus Prime his name? Or that Captain America drew Captain America? Or that Marvel created a character to slaughter Doctor Who's Daleks? We've uncovered some of the strangest and most wonderful facts from more than fifty years of Marvel Comics history to provide you with tidbits to amuse, educate, and inform --- including weird-but-true facts about Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, the X-Men, Doctor Strange, and the big guy himself, Groot.

The comic book movie craze may have exploded in recent years, but there have been movies and TV shows based on our favorite comics for decades. For all the action we see on screen, however, we hardly ever get to see behind the curtain at how it all comes together. Fortunately, we've managed to uncover dozens of behind the scenes images from your favorite comic-inspired movies. From The Dark Knight to Dredd, and Conan to Kick-Ass, we now have a little bit of an idea of what life was like on set during the creation of these beloved adaptations.

If either of them ever come back to the squared circle any time soon, former WWE superstars CM Punk (a.k.a. Phil Brooks) and Dave Bautista may have to tussle over ownership of Drax the Destroyer. Marvel announced at C2E2 in Punk's hometown of Chicago this weekend that he is the co-writer of a new Drax ongoing series set to debut late this year. (Bautista played the character in last summer's Guardians of the Galaxy movie.) The publisher unveiled an Ed McGuinness-drawn cover to the first issue, but hasn't yet named the artist for the series, nor Punk's co-writer.

Another week, another quick update from James Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The film isn’t set to hit theaters until 2017, but the director is still offering up plot tidbits and hints as he works on completing the screenplay. One of the big mysteries (perhaps the biggest) in Guardians of the Galaxy was the identity of Star-Lord’s father, and as Gunn previously teased, we’ll definitely meet him in the sequel — but is he the only father figure involved?

Making superhero movies can be a dangerous proposition, and not just because of the crazy fans. While shooting Guardians of the Galaxy, Zoe Saldana almost broke Chris Pratt’s ribs because he forget to wear his protective padding during their fight scene on Xandar. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which heads back to outer space with the Guardians of the Galaxy!

Every movie set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe contains at least a couple Easter eggs (along with a cameo from famous Marvel writer Stan Lee). They’re there — if you know where to look and what to look for (it helps to have spent a lifetime reading comic books and books about comic books and watching television shows based on comic books and you get the idea). For those of you still acclimating yourself to the magical world of Marvel — and for those Marvel zombies who just want to make sure they caught everything — we’ve compiled this extensive gallery of the best and geekiest Marvel Easter eggs so far.

James Gunn stays pretty active on social media and is as open as he can be with fans about his work on Guardians of the Galaxy, which goes against the typical secrecy of Marvel Studios. Then again, Guardians isn’t your typical Marvel film — the superhero space opera was a bit risky for the studio, but the weird and wonderful film really hit a home run with fans and critics alike. Gunn is currently working on the script for the sequel, and as usual, he has a few updates to offer.