James Gunn Gives Details on His Parents’ Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 Cameo

If you’re a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you likely already know that filmmaker James Gunn featured his parents — James F. Gunn and Leota Gunn — in a cameo during a key sequence in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. The pair played a couple of residents of a small town, who stopped to gape at destruction caused when Ego the Living Planet tried to swallow up the community. What’s a little less well-known is the roles they played in the film — although that’s changed now, because Gunn himself just shouted out a Reddit thread that flagged the trivia.

James F. Gunn is credited as “Weird Old Man” in the movie, with Leota Gunn credited as “Weird Old Man’s Mistress.” Does that suggest that an in-universe James Gunn would be “Weird Old Man’s Illegitimate Son?” Given his own sense of humor, we like to think so. Gunn provided a few extra details on the scene, too, noting that they are hardly alone.

“Also, my brother, his wife & their 3 kids were right beside them, and were all mowed down by Ego,” Gunn said on Twitter. “My niece and brother-in-law were yellow aliens also mowed down. And my niece Grace was the pink alien who was the 1st life form Ego met. My family loves getting killed in my movies.”

You can see a still frame from the cameo below.

Sean Gunn, the director’s brother, plays Kragglin the Guardians films, and provides the motion capture work for Rocket Raccoon. He appeared in The Suicide Squad as both the performance capture actor for Weasel, and in a cameo as Calendar Man at Belle Reve.

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 and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.

You can stream the movie on Disney+.