Dave Bautista

“When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to play Bane.”

If the first batch of trailers and clips have shown us anything, it’s that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is going to be Drax show. Dave Bautista famously cried when he was told that he would be playing Drax in Marvel’s new franchise; the direct-to-video market is littered with the work of former professional wrestlers who tried their hand at becoming action stars, and playing Drax meant that Bautista would escape the same outcome of some of his peers. As a result, Bautista poured his heart and soul into this character. It definitely shows.

FYI dudes, a new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer is premiering tomorrow night on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (that guy sure is having a good week), and even though it’s only a day and some change away, Marvel has generously offered up a short teaser for James Gunn’s highly-anticipated sequel. In addition to showing off what appears to be the space-equivalent of a campfire, the new sneak peek reveals our first look at the return of Nebula, played by Karen Gillan.

It’s funny how things work out. When Marvel was putting together the cast for Guardians of the Galaxy, they probably never dreamed that it would be former professional wrestler and MMA fighter Dave Bautista who would emerge as the film’s most likable character. And yet, with his deadpan line deliveries and awesome physicality, Bautista stood out among his live-action costars  —  I mean, nobody was going to beat Groot  —  as the funniest and most sympathetic of all the Guardians. Just like that, Bautista was a bonafide movie star and one of the biggest strengths of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Movie sets. If you’ve watched La La Land or even Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, you know they’re supposed to be glamorous. Bright lights, brighter stars, exotic locales ... So, what am I doing here in an abandoned convention center outside Atlanta?

Welcome to the Guardians of the Galaxy Yondu. Hope you survive the experience!

We can all probably agree that the current news cycle is relentlessly…depressing — so how about we take a break from all of that with new photos from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Marvel has debuted five images from James Gunn’s upcoming sequel, featuring a few of your favorite a-holes along with their new pal, Mantis, played by Pom Klementieff.

We’ve done our waiting, and now it’s finally here — feast your eyes on the first official Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer! All of our favorites are back, plus a few new faces and one very big tentacle monster. This trailer keeps the rock music vibe of the first movie alive with their choice of Sweet’s “Fox on the Run,” and it looks just as fun, if not even more fun, than its predecessor.

Well that was quick! Not long after debuting the first official teaser poster, James Gunn has revealed the first honest-to-goodness teaser for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — and if you were digging that poster, you’re going to love this teaser, which features the delightfully familiar sound of “ooga chaka, ooga chaka, ooga ooga chaka.” Everyone sing along!

Over the last few days, James Gunn has been sharing some photos from the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 cast rehearsals, featuring a very grumpy Michael Rooker and a cast of total screw-ups who have to learn a thing or two from Dave Bautista. We still have a while to wait before we see the cast back in costume as the unlikely group of heroes, but these rehearsal photos make that wait a little easier.