Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Plot

In 2014, the Guardians—Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot—are renowned heroes. High Priestess Ayesha of the Sovereign race hires them to protect Anulax batteries from an Abilisk in exchange for Nebula, Gamora's estranged sister, who was caught stealing the batteries. After Rocket steals the batteries, the Sovereign attacks the Guardians' ship. A mysterious figure destroys the drones, and the Guardians crash-land on planet Berhert.

The figure reveals himself as Ego, Quill's father, and introduces Mantis, his empath servant. Ego invites Quill, Gamora, and Drax to his home planet, while Rocket and Groot stay to repair the ship and watch Nebula. Ayesha hires Yondu Udonta and his exiled Ravager crew to recapture the Guardians. They capture Rocket, but Yondu hesitates to turn over Quill.

Taserface executes Yondu's loyalists and imprisons Yondu and Rocket. Nebula leaves to kill Gamora. Kraglin, remorseful, helps Groot free Rocket and Yondu; they escape as the ship self-destructs.

Cast

Chris Pratt portrays Peter Quill / Star-Lord, the half-human, half-Celestial leader of the Guardians, who was abducted from Earth as a child and raised by the Ravagers. Pratt said Quill is now famous throughout the galaxy and feels like a leader, though he struggles to stay out of trouble. Wyatt Oleff again plays a young Quill. Zoe Saldaña plays Gamora, a member of the Guardians and an orphan trained by Thanos as an assassin.

Saldaña described Gamora as the voice of reason and the 'Mom' of the team, and noted her relationship with Nebula as volatile. Dave Bautista portrays Drax the Destroyer, a highly skilled warrior.

Bautista initially was not crazy about his part, feeling Drax was not significant in the film, but it clicked after the table read. He called Drax more funny and driven than in the first film, with a sense of innocence and heartbreak. Bautista's makeup took 90 minutes to apply, down from four hours for the first film, and he used a sauna to remove it.

Production

In May 2014, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the first Guardians of the Galaxy had strong franchise potential, aiming to create another Avengers. James Gunn, who directed and co-wrote the first film, said he would return if asked and was contractually obligated. In July 2014, co-screenwriter Nicole Perlman confirmed a sequel, and Gunn would write and direct. At San Diego Comic-Con, a release date of July 28, 2017 was set.

Gunn began work within a month and said the sequel would include at least one new Guardian from the comics. In October, Gunn confirmed all five original Guardians would return, and the release date moved to May 5, 2017. Michael Rooker confirmed his return as Yondu Udonta. Chris Pratt confirmed the sequel as one of his next projects.

Bradley Cooper expressed interest in returning as Rocket, and Vin Diesel confirmed he would return as Groot. In March 2015, Gunn revealed filming would take place in Atlanta, Georgia with major crew changes, and that Sean Gunn would return as Kraglin Obfonteri alongside Karen Gillan as Nebula. Gunn said Marvel let him do his thing and he never was told to put in any character or plot element.

Marketing

In June 2016, Marvel revealed a bigger push for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 merchandise, with Groot as the focus. Director James Gunn made sure female characters got more product representation than in the first movie. Licensing head Paul Gitter said the goal was to turn the franchise into a major property. Partners included Hasbro, Lego, Funko, LB Kids, GEICO, Ford, Go-Gurt, Hanes, Synchrony Bank, Dairy Queen, M&M's, Screenvision, Sprint, and Wrigley.

A Doritos tie-in offered limited-edition bags with a built-in cassette player that played Awesome Mix Vol. 2, sold on Amazon. Doritos also set up pop-up recording booths in New York and Los Angeles. That July, Gunn, Chris Pratt, and other cast members promoted the film at San Diego Comic-Con. On October 19, a sneak peek teaser dropped. /Film's Ethan Anderton thought it worked well without showing new characters, and The A.V. Club's Esther Zuckerman called it an instant crowd-pleaser.

Comscore reported the teaser sparked 108,000 new social media conversations that week. In early December, Gunn explained that picking trailer moments was tough because fans scrutinize every shot for clues about the film's mysteries. Jacob Hall of /Film noted the teaser succeeded by focusing on character interactions. It pulled in 81 million views in 24 hours, making it the second-most viewed teaser after Beauty and the Beast and Marvel's biggest ever.

Did You Know?

• The film's score was recorded in January 2017 at Abbey Road Studios.
• A cassette version of Awesome Mix Volume 2 was released on June 23, 2017.
• The film's world premiere was in Tokyo on April 10, 2017.