James Gunn Clarifies Nathan Fillion’s Missing Guardians 2 Cameo

In April 2016, fans took photos on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for a sequence that takes place on Earth.

While it wasn’t clear what took place in that scene until the film released in theaters last week, some of the set designs for the shoot included a movie theater showing a “Simon Williams Film Festival.” The posters showed actor Nathan Fillion as Simon Williams, also known as Wonder Man in the comic books.

Ever since those photos hit the internet, fans misinterpreted them as confirmation that Fillion was cast as Wonder Man in the new film. But unfortunately, these images were never shown when the scene took place and fans learned that Fillion—who has appeared in nearly every other James Gunn film up until then—had been cut from the movie.

Gunn took to Facebook Live for a Q&A session and answered various spoiler-filled questions about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as well as addressing the decision to remove Fillion’s minor appearance as the MCU’s Wonder Man from the final cut.

“There is no Nathan Fillion cameo, and there never was a Nathan Fillion cameo,” Gunn clarified. “There was no scene with Simon Williams, he never did anything else.”

Gunn said that “things got out of control,” likening the appearance to an Easter Egg rather than a cameo. But it had to be cut out.

Wonder Man only recently returned to comic book pages after his essence spent a couple of years absorbed by Rogue after the events of Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña’s Uncanny Avengers series.

Fillion appeared as a CG alien character in the original Guardians Of The Galaxy movie, but this “easter egg” would have marked his debut as a semi-major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s unclear whether he will appear in a future movie as the same character or if Marvel has different plans for Simon Williams in the films.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is in theaters now.

What did you think of the latest volume of the Awesome Mix? Let us know with your ranking in the Movie Database below!

MORE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 NEWS: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Closing In On $250 Million / Guardians Of The Galaxy Marvel Legends Wave 2 / “Brandy” Songwriter Comments On Song’s Use / Alternate Costume Designs For Ayesha

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.