Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Kicks Off Production
Marvel Studios and Disney Studios have officially announced that principal production has begun for the highly anticipated sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The film has started production at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. The film is due out in May 2017.
Along with the announcement, Marvel Studios made some interesting casting announcement for the film, which will once again be written and directed by James Gunn. Of course, back from the original cast are Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, and Karen Gillan as Nebula. Some new cast members were also confirmed, including Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan and Kurt Russell. Elizabeth Debicki is a little bit of a surprise, since the trades hadn’t picked up that she was joining the cast.
Currently, the roles for the new cast member are still unknown. However, previous reports indicated that Klementieff would play the comic character Mantis, who joins the Guardians in the Marvel comic books. Russell is expected to portray Peter Quill’s father, however the identity of his father is still unknown. Previous statements by James Gunn said Quill’s father would not be J’Son of Spartax like in the comics. That’s lead to a lot of rampant fan speculation on who will become Quill’s dad.
Noticeably absent from the cast list is Josh Brolin as Thanos, who appeared in the last film. However, this could mean that if he does appear that his appearance is a closely-guarded secret. Or maybe Thanos will only appear in an extra scene during or after the credits.
Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige is producing the project, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Nik Korda and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. The creative team includes director of photography Henry Braham; production designer Scott Chambliss; editors Fred Raskin and Craig Wood; composer Tyler Bates; costume designer Judianna Makovsky; stunt coordinator Tommy Harper; co-producer / first assistant director Lars Winther; and six-time special effects supervisor Dan Sudick.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will continue the team’s adventures as they look to unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s parentage. The sequel arrives in theaters on May 5, 2017. You can also check out a new teaser image for the film released by Marvel Studios below (Courtesy of Disney).