Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2: 5 Fun Facts We Know So Far

In 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy directed by James Gunn, surprised us all. What was once a lesser-known comic book series became one of the biggest blockbuster hits in the superhero genre, pulling in over $773 million worldwide. Soon, everyone knew about the Guardians and their mission to protect the entire galaxy from cosmic threats. Now, we can’t get enough of our favorite team of misfits heroes.

The sequel was quickly greenlit and fans are eagerly awaiting more ridiculous space adventures with angry dumpster squirrel Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), overly literal Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), dancing baby Groot (Vin Diesel), dangerous assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and their fearless human leader, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt).

Oh, and we can’t forget one of the best movie soundtracks of all time either comprise of ’80s hits; it basically had us groovin’ in our seats. We’re expecting Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 to be just as fun and exciting as the first one, but we have a ways to go until it releases in May of 2017.

In the meantime, let’s countdown 5 fun facts we know so far…

Set Before Captain America: Civil War

A few days ago, James Gunn casually mentioned on his Facebook page that the sequel will take place just two short months after the first film. Because the Marvel Cinematic Universe has already cut a clear course concerning it’s timeline and how the upcoming films will relate to each other, this news initially threw us for a loop.

But then we remembered that they are in outer space and quite frankly who knows what year it is way out there compared to Earth. Still, it was figured out (using math) that the sequel will take place before the events of Captain America: Civil War. This probably doesn’t mean a thing unless that rumor of Iron Man making an appearance (which Gunn already shot down) is indeed true.

This also explains why baby Groot is…a baby. Apparently two months is not enough time for Vin Diesel to regenerate back into a massive, muscular tree monster. But hey, maybe we’ll get to hear some super adorable baby talk in addition to just three single words, “I am Groot!”

Abilisk Might Not Be In Space

Alright, we’re at least going to hear a cute baby Groot scream as he tries to escape this Octosaurus Rex or as I like to call it, Dinosharkpus. Fine…the squid-like space monster pictured above is actually called an Abilisk as confirmed by James Gunn.

Whatever it’s called it looks scary as hell, which is probably why baby Groot is trying to flee the battle while the rest of the team is running straight towards it with guns blazing. Gunn recently released this concept art for Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and it was also featured in Empire Magazine. 

The Abilisk isn’t like anything we’ve seen before in the comics, but it does look eerily similar to the blood-sucking slugs featured in the horror movie Slither, also directed by Gunn. In fact, the layered teeth are pretty spot-on. 

Adding more to the mystery behind this new creature, Marvel fans noticed that no one is wearing a helmet, meaning our heroes are freely breathing in space. This discovery led to a flurry of questions, which James Gunn simply answered by saying:

Sly Stallone Is Probably Not A Ravager

The moment we heard that Sly Stallone was spotted leaving a hotel in Atlanta and hopping in Chris Pratt’s limo rumors started to fly. Would he be playing a villain? Is he joining the galactic team as a new character? Just what on Earth would Stallone be doing in the upcoming outer space adventure?

The easiest explanation for him being on set was that he was going to be a Ravager with the rest of Yondu’s crew. However, he was not present with the Ravagers at Comic-Con 2016, nor was he in any of the Ravager photos, like the one below:

In Gunn’s recent Q&A session on Facebook he said this very revealing thing:

“We know that Sylvester Stallone is playing someone in the film. We don’t know who.”

And a few months ago, it was mentioned that Stallone’s supporting role was very important and central to the storyline. This means he probably won’t be showing for a meaningless cameo either. Right now, all we do now is that he’s NOT a Ravager, he’s definitely not Star-Lords dad, but maybe he’s his uncle or something?

Star-Lord’s Dad Is A Planet

Now, as far we know planets aren’t usually capable of making or having babies, especially human ones like Star-Lord. With that said how did an entire planet that skirts around on the edge of the galaxy manage to meet and woo Star-Lords human mom? Further more, how is Kurt Russell going to be a planet? Is Gunn just planning on superimposing Kurt’s face over Ego’s?

What we do know is that Chris Pratt recently commented on how his character meets his father, Ego The Living Planet. He also mentioned that the family dynamic is very difficult to get used to at first, as he is trying to figure out if his long-lost father lives up to his standards. Star-Lord spent most of his life searching for his real father, the last thing he probably expected to discover was Ego.

Gunn described Ego as “an ancient cosmic being who has been on the edges of the universe for aeons by himself.”  Ego will appear in human form (dressed as Kurt Russel) and will go through a re-birthing process out of a space egg, right in front of Star-Lord. If only all of us could have seen that special Guardian of the Galaxy vol. 2 special Comic-Con 2016 footage, we might be able to picture this better in our heads. 

If Ego has a human form, this would also solve the mystery as to how he was able to impregnate Star-Lords mom…because who wasn’t wondering the same thing? Just me? OH.

Mantis Is Ego’s Helper

Pom Klementieff, who was cast to play Mantis, recently revealed that she will be playing an an alien (not a human per the comics) in the movie. She also discussed that she will be arriving with Kurt Russell’s character, Ego The Living Planet and that she has been by his side for many years.

She’s not necessarily his lady, but more of his helper. Mantis will be helping Ego through their adventures together as his personal psychic. This does fall in line with her comic book roots, she initially joined the Guardians to serve as the group’s counselor, using her empathic abilities to help the rag-tag team stay balanced.

But, back in the ’70s when comics were even more strange, she was chosen to birth the “Celestial Saviour” who would then go one to save the galaxy. Mom, is that you? Probably not, but since she “spent her entire life with Ego” anything is possible.