'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Might Not Include The Collector

One of the quirkier aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy was Benicio Del Toro’s role as Taneleer Tivan, aka The Collector, a delightful eccentric who spends his time collecting various artifacts and life forms. With James Gunn hard at work completing the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 script, we’ve been wondering who will — and won’t — return for the sequel. According to Del Toro, it might not happen, but he may return to the MCU again pretty soon.

In an interview with IGN, Del Toro said he wasn’t sure if there’s a part for him in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but he did express interest in further developing the character in the MCU:

I would like to keep working on that character, though. It was kind of like a cameo. I would like to keep developing the character based on what’s written in the comic books. I’d like to see some different sides. I had a blast working with James Gunn and the cast - but it’s not up to me.

Del Toro also discussed the extensive research he did to play The Collector, and some of what he discovered definitely hints at his return:

learned a lot about the character. One of the most interesting things that I learned about him is the reasons that he’s collecting. He sees himself as putting together Noah’s Ark. He sees himself as having that responsibility. He’s collecting things, because eventually there’s going to be an apocalypse in the universe and he wants to get things to safety. That’s a really interesting aspect of the character.

The Collector’s part in Guardians of the Galaxy ties him into the larger story line with the Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos’ quest to acquire all six of the stones. Given Del Toro’s comments about “an apocalypse in the universe” and Marvel’s current plans leading into Avengers: Infinity War, it seems very likely that we’ll see The Collector make another appearance later in the franchise, even if he’s not in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

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