Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Cast, Release Date, and Characters

Apr 14, 2015 09:30 PM EDT

With Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2 release date set for May 5, 2017, audience should expect the return of many cast members - including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. Recently, the film's co-writer and director James Gunn has reportedly finished the plot well in advance of the scheduled 2016 shoot date.

However, Gunn said he has only finished the first 70 pages in a broadcast using the Periscope app. Information from this broadcast was later republished on ScreenRant.

A follow-up report by the same publication on Tuesday, April 14, confirmed that a number of GoTG2 characters will be facing daddy issues. The first Guardians of the Galaxy installment hinted at Peter Quill's father being present in the sequel. Actor Chris will reprise the role of the younger Quill, aka Star-Lord. Sisters Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan) will continue to have issue with Thanos, their villainous adoptive father.

Meanwhile, Gunn told fans that filming for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will begin in February 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. This comment was made during a Q&A session that was later paraphrased at CBM. The first Guardian of the Galaxy film was produced overseas in London, UK.

Exploration into Three More Characters

During the recent premier of Avengers: Age of Ultron, James Gunn revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will uncover additional backstory for three characters who appeared in the first film.

"The characters of Gamora and Nebula and Yondu... those are characters we get to know a little bit more," he said in an MTV interview.

Yondu (Michael Rooker) is the blue-skinned alien criminal who fancies himself as Peter Quill's adoptive father. In actuality, Peter was abducted as a child, and forced to labor in Yondu's crew. When he is older, Peter escapes and lives under the pseudonym of Star-Lord.

Though Peter is mentally-scarred by the experience, Yondu continues to see the younger character as a misguided prodigal son. They maintain a comically dysfunctional father-son relationship that often turns violent. This relation will be further complicated by the arrival of Peter's biological father in GoTG2.

Gamora and Nebula are orphaned sisters who have been trained to be deadly assassins by their evil adoptive father, Thanos. Both female characters are played by actress Zoe Saldana. While Gamora discovered a renewed sense of belonging with the Guardians, Nebula persists in her villainous ways. The sisters will continue to do battle in the upcoming GoTG2.