When James Gunn began working on the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 script, he knew right away that he wanted to add a strange, silly female character who was just as much of a goofball as Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot. And since Mantis is one of his favorite comic book characters, having always found her intriguing, he selected her to be that goofball.
Of course, including an alien with insect-like features presented some challenges for the visual effects supervisor Chris Townsend. "She is supposed to be bug-like, so we talked about larger eyes, strange mandibles and various prosthetics," Townsend explained in the film's production notes. "We played around with lots of different ideas from a concept point and again the Marvel visual development team came up with a lot of different looks. We eventually ended up realizing that Pom's performance is so beautiful and so subtle, that all we really needed to do was put the antennae on her head and give her black irises to give her more of a bug feeling."
Townsend continued, "So we ended up working with visual effects companies to create an animation for these antennas that was incredibly subtle because James didn' t want the antennae to be a performance enhancer. He felt that the performance was just spot on, so they just needed to exist and be there, in a believable way, so that the audience would not question them and just see this woman with antennae that sometimes glowed when she used her special powers."
Head on down to our slide to view some amazing concept art of Mantis and Drax that were illustrated by Marvel Studios conceptual artist Andy Park.
Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2,' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now playing!
Early Mantis Concept Art
"This is another Mantis concept design version I painted up for [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]," wrote Park. "These were so fun to imagine up. I was trying to balance the line between having an insect influence in her design and yet keeping her attractive."
"This is the final approved Mantis concept design I did for [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]," he shared. "It was a fun journey searching for her final look. At this point the Costume Designer, Judianna Makovsky, had to make this in reality on [Pom Klementieff]. The talented folks at [Legacy Effects and Mike Ornelaz] did her practical makeup, & the [VFX] department led by Chris Townsend added the [VFX] of her antennas. They all did an amazing job making her come alive! & then [Pom Klementieff] knocked it out of the park with her portrayal of the character! I can't wait to see her next appearance!"
"Closeup of [Dave Bautista] aka Drax from the cover I painted for [Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Art of the Movie] book," he explained. "I love the sincerity of his character. Him & Mantis were my favorites. But painting his body scars is not easy!"
