What Changes James Gunn Made To Mantis For Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

The roster of Marvel’s premiere cosmic team expands in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with not just old foes joining the squad but one entirely new character coming along for the ride as Pom Klementieff becomes Mantis in the film. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Mantis’s origin and powers can be a bit complicated, but writer/director James Gunn didn’t shy away from simplifying things a bit for the film. For instance, her complicated origin between Earth and cosmic locations has been erased.

“I think that, frankly, some of these characters that do have the various pasts, and various different origins are a little bit easier in Guardians movies, because they don’t come with as many expectations,” Gunn told press at a set visit for Vol. 2 last spring. “I think adding alien elements to some of these characters a little easier. From the beginning I said, for the time being, Quill is the only Earthling superhero, member of the Guardians. So, that was part of what I had I in mind with her, and that’s probably part of why I landed on her as well.”

That means her alien appearance is probably accompanied by an alien origin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether that will still include links to the Kree, who have played an important role in the MCU already and likely will going forward, or the complicated “Celestial Madonna” aspect of the character remains to be seen. We have already seen, however, that she has empathic abilities, the power to sense (and even personally feel) the feelings of those around her, sometimes to great comedic effect.

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.

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