Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Director Explains Why Revealing Star-Lord’s Father Isn’t A Spoiler

For Guardians of the Galaxy fans, it seemed to be the announcement heard around the world. At this year’s San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios confirmed that Kurt Russel was cast to play Ego the Living Planet in the franchise’s upcoming sequel. While many fans were elated to hear the news, there were of course others who were surprised – and even angry – that director James Gunn would allow such a secret to slip. And, now, Gunn is addressing those fans’ concerns personally.

On his Facebook, Gunn recently published a lengthy post that explains why the studios’ decision to reveal Star-Lord’s father isn’t a spoiler. He starts, appropriately enough, with a spoiler warning for fans who don’t want to know anything before they see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. But, following the aside, he says this:

“People have been particularly excited, confused, and supportive of keeping Marvel Cosmic truly cosmic with the reveal of Peter Quill’s father’s identity….I get it. If we lived in a perfect world, I wouldn’t tell you ANYTHING before you walked in to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2….However, the world is imperfect.”

Then, Gunn goes on to list two reasons why the reveal shouldn’t classify as a spoiler:

1. Film advertisement is a very real thing, and it’s more important than ever for studios to get fans hyped for big-budget projects. Gunn emphasized that advertising the film would be almost impossible to do without mentioning Ego seeing how integral his character will be.
2. If Marvel didn’t tell you the news when they did, then someone else would’ve done it in their place. Gunn points out there are lots of online sites that would quickly break Ego’s appearance after they’d learned of it. Gunn said he, “would rather be in control of the announcement…than have it come out on SpoilersRUs.com.”

But, most importantly, Gunn says the reveal isn’t a spoiler because it said nothing of why or how the character will be seen in the film. “That said, knowing who Quill’s father is will not diminish your enjoyment of the film in any way,” Gunn explained. “Ego [is] the emotional center of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 from the beginning to the end, and is not a twist. And believe me – there are many, many more surprises we still have in store for you from Vol. 2 – hopefully the biggest of which is how much you’ll love the movie itself.”