james gunn

After Matthew McConaughey reportedly turned down a major role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Marvel and director James Gunn went back to the drawing board, looking to attract a big star for the upcoming sequel. It turns out they may have found their man. The Hateful Eight star Kurt Russell is Marvel’s choice to join the film in the very critical role of Peter Quill’s father.

It might be for the best that this scene never made it into the final cut of Guardians of the Galaxy, since it might have inspired a terrible mash-up t-shirt with a drunk Drax in Joker makeup asking, “You wanna know how I got these scars?” Still, if you were curious about Drax’s tattoos in Guardians, this deleted scene has your answer.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doesn’t officially head into production until early next year, but it looks like some preparations are already being made for James Gunn’s intergalactic superhero sequel. Zoe Saldana takes us behind the scenes in a new photo, showing us a bit of the work that goes into getting her ready for Gamora.

James Gunn is — unsurprisingly — playing things pretty close to the vest with Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and while he’s addressed several fan questions via social media, he’s only mostly told us who and what won’t be in the sequel. But now we know someone new who most definitely is joining Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and the rest of the Guardians in their next adventure, and she’s not a name you’re likely to recognize.

James Gunn delighted fans by giving Howard the Duck a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, a move that led to a comic book prequel explaining how the wacky alien wound up hanging out in one of the Collector’s cubes and an ongoing series by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones. But if you were hoping that Marvel would take advantage of Gunn’s cute inclusion of the beloved character by giving him another shot on the big screen, we have some sad news for you.

It’s been over a year since Guardians of the Galaxy was released and by now, with countless viewings under their belt, you’d think the hardcore Marvel fans would’ve caught every single easter egg that writer/director James Gunn snuck into the film. It turns out, you’d actually be wrong. Gunn said that not only are there still a few undiscovered easter eggs in the film, he says the biggest one of all has yet to be found.

Today in news that is both obvious and delightful, director James Gunn confirmed that Vin Diesel (and Groot) will return for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Sure, it was a foregone conclusion, but it’s good to know that our favorite lovable tree alien will be back for the sequel — although Gunn did not confirm if Groot will be bringing his sweet dance moves back.

When Marvel announced a release date for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 before the first one was even released, everyone thought Marvel was overestimating their strange space opera. And then it made a bajillion dollars and everyone on the internet felt like a fool. Now, the title for that sequel has been revealed and while it doesn’t bring any grand revelation with it, it’ll probably get you to crack a tiny smile.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 isn’t hitting theaters until 2017, but that hasn’t kept fans from speculating about what — and who — we can expect to see in the sequel. Per his last update, James Gunn was working on completing the script based on his finished outline, and he had also previously hinted that this is a film about fathers. Gunn is doubling down on the dad stuff in his latest interview, while revealing a little bit more of what we can expect from Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

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!