Guardians Of The Galaxy Hired To Fight The Abilisk In Vol. 2

On Monday, new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 concept art was released, featuring the Guardians — Gamora, Rocket, Drax, and Star-Lord — going up against an enormous, multi-tentacled beast. Baby Groot is there as well, but he appears to be running away.

Soon after the artwork was posted, writer/director James Gunn revealed that the creature is an “Abilisk;” however, no creature of that name currently exists in the Marvel universe, thus it’s probably a newly invented creature for the film. Also of note: Since none of the new members of the Guardians are depicted in the artwork, it seems safe to assume that this scene takes place early on. Perhaps, it is the opening scene?

What else do we know? Well, on Thursday, when Gunn was asked about the creature during a fan Q&A session on Facebook, he provided some additional information. “That’s an Abilisk, a multi-dimensional being,” Gunn shared (view at the 8-minute mark in the video above). “And the Guardians have been hired to fight him.”

Wow! I wonder how many units they got to take on this Sarlacc-looking beast.

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 scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2017.