Giant Freakin Robot

We may be more than two years away from Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but that’s not going to stop anyone from wondering who is going to appear in Marvel’s next cosmic adventure. There are lots of things to consider, like the identity of Peter Quill’s father, who director James Gunn’s favorite character is, and what new superheroes will join the fray. Over the weekend, Gunn participated in a Q&A session and shed a little bit of light on the film, including at least one character who won’t appear.

When Marvel made that big announcement laying out Phase 3 of their Cinematic Universe (which has since been rearranged due to Spider-Man returning home), one of the new additions was Captain Marvel, who will get her own movie on November 2, 2018. She plays a key part in the deep space side of Marvel’s comics, and many suspected she could show up in Guardians 2. Gunn has said this isn’t the case before, and reiterated that fact this weekend.

Last summer, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up a whole new avenue for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explore. Now that it’s fully ensconced in deep space, there are tons of new storylines, planets, and new creatures to explore, and one of the things fans are eager see are which new characters show up in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Everyone has their beloved players they want to see in action, and that includes director James Gunn, who is in the unusual position of making this a reality, and he says he’s bringing his favorite out to play next time.

Guardians 2 doesn’t open until May 5, 2017, but Gunn already knows what story he wants to tell, and even though the execs at Marvel called it “risky” when he pitched it to them, they apparently signed off—the first film was more of a risk than the studio has ever taken, adapting one of their lesser known comics, and that paid off big time.

Sci-fi may not fare well at the Oscars, outside of a few technical awards now and again, but at this point, do any of us really put much stock in what the Academy thinks? Almost none of my favorite films from 2014 were nominated for much of anything in any of the usual glut of self-congratulatory awards shows, but one that is always more in line with our general aesthetic are the Saturn Awards, and now the nominees for this year have been released.

As the Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy, and Horror Films chooses the nominees and winners, you can imagine they’re a wee bit different than the more mainstream celebrations, and the list for the 41st Annual Saturn Awards is no different. You’ve got big blockbuster comic book movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier right up there along with independent horror, like The Babadook and The Guest. We’re talking about awards that honor movies like Lucy and Snowpiercer and Paddington, you know it’s a different sort of animal.

Before he was Star-Lord, before he battled genetically enhanced dinosaurs, and before he plays (maybe) Indiana Jones, Chris Pratt was best known for his portrayal of schlubby, loveable goof Andy Dwyer on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. That seven-year journey came to an end last night on the series finale, which was funny, touching, and almost everything you could ask for. But it also brought two of Pratt’s worlds together as eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed an awesome Guardians of the Galaxy Easter Egg.

Guardians of the Galaxy has an entirely new cast. Sort of. We’re not talking about the blockbuster movie. No, Marvel has those actors locked up for years and multiple movies. So don’t worry, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper aren’t going anywhere on the big screen, but the animated Guardians series the studio has been working on has put together all the key pieces of its voice cast.

Will Friedle will lend his vocal chords to Star-Lord, Vanessa Marshall will voice Gamora, David Sobolov has signed on as Drax the Destroyer, Kevin Michael Richardson will say “I am Groot” quite a bit as Groot, and Trevor Devall brings his talents to everyone’s favorite smart-ass, gun-toting raccoon, Rocket. There you have it, the main core of the cast of the animated Guardians of the Galaxy.

From the get go, Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like Marvel was taking a bit of a chance. After all, the main group of heroes is made up of criminals, murderers, and thugs, and two of the primary characters are a talking raccoon and an anthropomorphic alien tree. But it was a gamble that paid off, and huge, and while the sequel is in the works, that doesn’t mean that writer/director James Gunn is going to sit back and take the easy way out, that’s not his style.

While talking to the Allison Rosen is Your New Best Friend podcast, Gunn discussed his plan for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and his idea for the story apparently worried some of the folks at Marvel, who called his idea “risky.”