Guardians of the galaxy 2 free movie download. - were visited
Guardians of the galaxy 2 free movie download. - you
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written and directed by James Gunn, the film stars an ensemble cast featuring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Guardians travel throughout the cosmos as they help Peter Quill learn more about his mysterious parentage.
The film was officially announced at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International before the theatrical release of the first film, along with James Gunn's return from the first film, with the title of the sequel revealed a year later in June 2015. Principal photography began in February 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, with many crew changes from the first film due to other commitments. Filming concluded in June 2016. James Gunn chose to set the sequel shortly after the first film to explore the characters' new roles as the Guardians, and to follow the storyline of Quill's father established throughout that previous film. Russell was confirmed as Quill's father in July 2016, portraying Ego, a departure from Quill's comic father.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 premiered in Tokyo on April 10, 2017, and was released in the United States on May 5, 2017, as part of Phase Three of the MCU. It grossed more than $863 million worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2017, while also outgrossing its predecessor. The film received praise for its visuals, direction, soundtrack, humor, and performances (particularly those of Rooker and Russell), though some critics deemed it inferior to the original. It received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards. A sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, is in development, with Gunn returning as writer and director.
Plot[edit]
In 2014, Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Baby Groot are renowned as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ayesha, leader of the Sovereign race, has the Guardians protect valuable batteries from an inter-dimensional monster in exchange for Gamora's estranged sister Nebula, who was caught attempting to steal the batteries. After Rocket steals the batteries for himself, the Sovereign attacks the Guardians' ship with a fleet of drones. The drones are destroyed by a mysterious figure, and the Guardians crash-land on a nearby planet. There, this figure reveals himself as Quill's father, Ego, and invites Quill, Gamora, and Drax to his home planet. Rocket and Groot remain behind to repair the ship and guard Nebula.
Meanwhile, Ayesha hires Yondu Udonta and his crew, who have been exiled from the greater Ravager community for child trafficking, to recapture the Guardians. They capture Rocket, but when Yondu hesitates to turn over Quill, whom he raised, his assistant Kraglin Obfonteri questions his objectivity, and his lieutenant Taserface leads a mutiny with help from Nebula. Taserface imprisons Rocket and Yondu aboard the latter's ship, and executes his loyalists by releasing them into space. Nebula leaves to find and kill Gamora, whom she blames for the torture inflicted on her by their father, Thanos. While imprisoned, Rocket and Yondu bond. Groot and Kraglin, the latter having never intended to start the mutiny, free Rocket and Yondu, and they destroy the ship and its crew as they escape, but Taserface warns the Sovereign before dying.
Ego, a god-like Celestial that manipulated the matter around its consciousness to form this "home" planet, explains that he projected a humanoid guise to travel the universe and discover a purpose, eventually falling in love with Quill's mother Meredith. Ego hired Yondu to collect the young Quill after Meredith's death, but the boy was never delivered, and Ego has been searching for him ever since. He teaches Quill to manipulate the Celestial power. Nebula arrives at Ego's planet and tries to kill Gamora, but the pair reach an uneasy alliance when they discover a cavern filled with skeletal remains. Ego reveals to Quill that in his travels, he planted seedlings on thousands of worlds that can terraform into new extensions of himself, but they can only be activated by the power of two Celestials. To that end, he impregnated countless women and hired Yondu to collect the children, but killed them all when they failed to access the Celestial power. Under Ego's influence, Quill helps him activate the seedlings, which begin to consume every world, but Quill fights back when Ego reveals that he gave Meredith the tumor that killed her due to the distraction she posed.
Mantis, Ego's naïve empath servant, grows close to Drax and warns him of Ego's plan. Gamora and Nebula also learn of the plan as Rocket, Yondu, Groot, and Kraglin arrive. The reunited Guardians find Ego's brain at the planet's core, as they come under attack from the Sovereign's drones. Rocket makes a bomb using the stolen batteries, which Groot plants on the brain. Quill fights Ego with his newfound Celestial powers to distract him long enough for the other Guardians and Mantis to escape. The bomb explodes, killing Ego and disintegrating the planet. Quill loses his Celestial powers soon after Ego's death. Yondu sacrifices himself to save Quill and dies in the vacuum of space. Meanwhile, Quill realizes that the reason Yondu kept him was to spare him from the fate of Ego's other progeny. Having reconciled with Gamora, Nebula still chooses to leave and resume her quest to kill Thanos by herself. The Guardians hold a funeral for Yondu, which is attended by Kraglin and dozens of Ravager ships, acknowledging Yondu's sacrifice and accepting him as a Ravager again.
In a series of mid- and post-credit scenes, Kraglin takes up Yondu's telekinetic arrow and control-fin; Ravager leader Stakar Ogord reunites with his ex-teammates; Groot has grown into a teenager;[N 1] Ayesha creates a new artificial being with whom she plans to destroy the Guardians, naming him Adam;[N 2] and a group of uninterested Watchers abandon their informant, who is discussing his experiences on Earth.
Cast[edit]
- Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord:
The half-human, half-Celestial leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who was abducted from Earth as a child and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers.[6][7] Pratt, who returns as part of a multi-film contract with Marvel,[8] said Quill is now famous throughout "the galaxy for having saved so many people... He feels like he's part of this group, a leader of this group. He's a little more responsible and trying to stay out of trouble, but not necessarily doing the best job."[9] Pratt stated that working on the film forced him to come to terms with the death of his own father.[10]Wyatt Oleff once again portrays a young Quill.[11] - Zoe Saldana as Gamora:
A member of the Guardians and an orphan from an alien world who seeks redemption for her past crimes. She was trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin.[7] Saldana described Gamora's role in the team as "the voice of reason", saying, "She's surrounded by all these dudes who are so stupid half the time,"[12] and added that she is the "Mom" of the team, saying that she is "just a meticulous, detailed, professional individual."[13] Regarding Gamora's relationship with Nebula, Saldana described it as "volatile" and added, "we're starting somewhere very crazy but appropriate given where we had ended things off in the first installment".[14] - Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer:
A member of the Guardians and highly skilled warrior.[7] Bautista waited for the final version of the script to not take "away from the magic", which he felt had happened when he read early drafts of the first film.[15] He added that "I wasn't crazy about my part [in Vol. 2, initially]. It went a different direction than what I thought they were going to go with Drax," noting he did not "think Drax was that significant in the film". The part "clicked" for Bautista after the table read with the other cast.[16] Bautista called Drax "more funny, driven" than in the first film,[17] and having "a sense of innocence and heartbreak about him",[12] despite "most people's first perception of Drax [that] he's just a big, muscly brute".[17] Bautista's makeup took only 90 minutes to apply, down from four hours for the first film. He would have to sit in a sauna at the end of the day to get the makeup off, after his makeup test was found to be too "abrasive".[13] - Vin Diesel as Baby Groot:
A member of the Guardians who is a tree-like humanoid and the accomplice of Rocket.[18] The character began growing from a sapling at the end of the first film, with James Gunn intending for him to be fully grown by the sequel. Gunn eventually decided to keep him as "Baby Groot", which was one of the reasons the film is set only a few months after the first.[19] Gunn described Baby Groot as the son of Groot from the first film,[20] with Diesel explaining that "we're going to see this goofy, adorable, baby Groot [just] kinda learning as he goes."[21][22]Prop master Russell Bobbitt created a 1:1 scale model of the 10-inch (25 cm) Baby Groot for filming, to use as a lighting reference and sometimes as a puppet for the actors to interact with.[23] As Groot only communicates with the phrase "I am Groot" in different inflections, Gunn created a "Groot Version" of the script for himself and Diesel, which contains each of Groot's lines in English.[24] Diesel used a higher register of his voice for Baby Groot, which was pitched up by seven to nine semitones depending on the take. He also delivered lines slowly to avoid any time stretching issues.[25] Diesel recorded Groot's voice for sixteen foreign-language releases of the film (up from six in the first film).[26]Sean Gunn provided on-set reference for adolescent Groot in the post-credit sequence.[27] - Bradley Cooper as Rocket:
A member of the Guardians who is a genetically-engineered raccoon-based bounty hunter, mercenary, and master of weapons and battle tactics.[7] Sean Gunn once again served as the stand-in for the character during filming,[28] with Cooper's performance also referenced.[27] Sean Gunn said that "Rocket has the same sort of crisis of faith [that he had in the first film] about whether or not he belongs in this family",[29] with James Gunn adding, "this is really about Rocket coming to terms with accepting his place within a group of people, which probably seemed like a good idea" when they were heroes together at the end of the first film, but now "he's just not very comfortable with the idea". Feige stated that the relationship between Rocket and Groot has changed, saying, "Groot was Rocket's protector in the first movie, [and now] Rocket is Groot's protector."[13] - Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta:
A blue-skinned buccaneer of the Ravagers who is a fatherly figure to Quill[30] and member of the Guardians. He is also the former deputy to Ayesha.[31] Yondu has a larger head fin in the film, to look closer to his comic counterpart,[32] and Rooker worked with the prosthetic department to add gaps to his prosthetic teeth, "just like real teeth", to aid him in whistling as the character.[33] Rooker explained that, for the sequel, Gunn "wanted people to experience more in-depth what Yondu was thinking and how he's feeling—a more serious Yondu." Rooker noted the complex relationship between Yondu and Quill where "we don't agree on things...they are constantly at each other's throats [but] Yondu truly cares about this kid."[34] Gunn was reluctant to kill Yondu in the film, but ultimately felt that "this is a story about a father's love for his son, his ultimate love, so much love that he sacrifices himself for that, and that's what Yondu is. He is 100 percent Peter Quill's father" despite Ego being Quill's biological father.[35] Before the release of Vol. 2, Rooker spent time on the set of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) to counteract rumors that the reason his character would not appear in that film was that he would die in this one.[36] - Karen Gillan as Nebula:
An adopted daughter of Thanos who was raised with Gamora as sisters and reluctant member of the Guardians.[14] Gillan stated the film would further explore the sisterly relationship between Nebula and Gamora,[37] including their backstory "and what happened to these two girls growing up and actually how awful it was for them and how it has ruined their relationship",[13] adding "we're [also] going to start to see how much pain [Thanos] actually caused [Nebula]... we really start to see the emotional crack in her character".[38] While Gillan had to shave her head for the first film, she only had to shave half of her head for the sequel, taking away the underneath part and leaving the top.[38] Gillan's makeup took two and a half hours to apply, down from five hours for the first film.[23] - Pom Klementieff as Mantis:
A member of the Guardians with empathic powers who lives with Ego.[13][39] Executive producer Jonathan Schwartz said the character "has never really experienced social interaction", and learns about "social intricacies" from the other Guardians.[40] Klementieff added, "She was really lonely and by herself, so it's a completely new thing to meet these people and to discover new things", comparing this to a child making awkward mistakes in social situations. Mantis and Drax have an "interesting" relationship in the film due to both being "complete odd balls".[13]Steve Englehart, Mantis' co-creator, was disappointed with the character's portrayal, saying, "That character has nothing to do with Mantis ... I really don't know why you would take a character who is as distinctive as Mantis is and do a completely different character and still call her Mantis."[41] - Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha:
The golden High Priestess and the leader of the Sovereign people,[42][43][44] a genetically engineered race who are "gold and perfect and wanting to be physically and mentally impeccable." Gunn was "very specific" when writing the character, and after casting director Sarah Finn suggested Debicki, Gunn "knew right away that she was the one". Gunn highlighted the actress' beauty and 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) height. Debicki wore platform shoes to increase her height to 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m).[34] - Chris Sullivan as Taserface:
The leader of a mutinous group of the Ravagers.[42][44] Gunn originally posted a photo of the comic book character on his social media after landing Guardians of the Galaxy, calling him "the dumbest character of all time" and saying he would never feature the character in a film. After eventually deciding to use the character in the sequel, Gunn felt the character had given himself the name Taserface and is "a real dumbass".[45] Sullivan's makeup took two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours to apply each day.[46] - Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri:
Yondu's second-in-command in the Ravagers.[47] Kraglin has an expanded role compared to the previous film—Sean Gunn explained, "In the first film he did a lot of just saying yes and being at Yondu's side, but in this movie things take a little bit of a different turn as Kraglin has a little bit of a crisis of conscience and has to decide whether he's going to stick with Yondu or join forces with the growing faction of mutineers."[34][48] - Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord:
A high-ranking Ravager who holds a grudge against Yondu.[49] Stallone likened his character's relationship with Yondu to a father-son relationship, and called the confrontation they have in the film "pretty intense".[34] For Stakar's acceptance of Yondu as a Ravager at the end of the film, Gunn asked Stallone to channel the "That'll do, pig" line from the film Babe.[50] Gunn described Stakar as "very important to the Marvel Universe",[51] and said that "it's our plan to see more of Stallone" in future MCU films, though he was not sure then if that would include Vol. 3.[52] - Kurt Russell as Ego:
An ancient Celestial who is Quill's father.[32][42] Pratt was the first to suggest to Gunn that he consider Russell for the role; he portrays an avatar of Ego who is more traditionally seen in the comics in his "Living Planet" form.[53] Russell appreciated why he was wanted for the role after seeing Pratt's performance in the first film, feeling "That's my kinda guy. I know where that kind of goof comes from." He added, "I bring the right things [from previous roles]...I connected the dots from some of the things I've done in the past."[54] Ego replaces Quill's original comic father of J'son,[55] and was allowed to be used in the film after 20th Century Fox reached a deal with Marvel Studios to return the film rights of Ego for changing the power set of Negasonic Teenage Warhead, whom Fox wanted to use in Deadpool (2016).[56] Gunn originally thought Marvel held the rights to the character, and stated that, had the deal with Fox not been made, there was "no back up plan, and it would [have been] nearly impossible to just drop another character in," given the extensive work done surrounding the character.[57] For the film's opening sequence, set in 1980 Missouri, Aaron Schwartz served as facial reference for the young Ego.[58][59]
Additionally, reprising their roles from the first film are Laura Haddock as Meredith Quill, Gregg Henry as her father, Seth Green as the voice of Howard the Duck, and canine actor Fred as Cosmo.[59][60][61] Members of Yondu's Ravager crew appearing in the film include Evan Jones as Retch, Jimmy Urine as Half-Nut, Stephen Blackehart as Brahl,[44]Steve Agee as Gef,[44][62] Mike Escamilla as Scrote,[63] Joe Fria as Oblo, Terence Rosemore as Narblik,[44] and Tommy Flanagan as Tullk,[44][64][65] as well as Charred Walls of the Damned drummer and Howard Stern Show personality Richard Christy in a cameo appearance.[66] The other members of Stakar and Yondu's old team, based on the comic's original incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy, include Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex, Ving Rhames as Charlie-27, and Michelle Yeoh as Aleta Ogord.[52][61] Also included in the team are the CG characters Krugarr and Mainframe, with the latter voiced, in an uncredited cameo, by Miley Cyrus.[52][67] Rosenbaum had previously auditioned to play Peter Quill in Vol. 1.[68] Gunn cast Yeoh because of his love of 1990s Hong Kong films,[69] and Cyrus after admiring "the tone of her voice" while watching her as a coach on The Voice.[67] He added that the team would return in future MCU films alongside Stallone's Stakar.[52]
Stan Lee appears as an informant to the Watchers, discussing previous adventures that include his cameos in other MCU films; he specifically mentions his time as a FedEx delivery man, referring to Lee's cameo in Captain America: Civil War (2016).[70] This acknowledged the fan theory that Lee may be portraying the same character in all his cameos,[71] with Gunn noting that "people thought Stan Lee is a Watcher and that all of these cameos are part of him being a Watcher. So, Stan Lee as a guy who is working for the Watchers was something that I thought was fun for the MCU."[70][71] Feige added that Lee "clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films. So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians...really says, so wait a minute, he's this same character who's popped up in all these films?"[72] Lee filmed several different versions of the scene, including an alternative where he references his role in Deadpool, which would have been the first acknowledgment of the X-Men film series by an MCU film.[71] Gunn later admitted that the Civil War reference is a continuity error, given Vol. 2 is set before the events of Civil War, saying, "I screwed up; I wasn't thinking. But I'm going to say that probably Stan Lee used the guise of a Fed Ex guy more than one time."[70]
David Hasselhoff makes a cameo appearance as himself, when Ego shape-shifts to his likeness,[11] while Rob Zombie once again has a Ravager voice cameo.[59][73] Footage of Jeff Goldblum dancing as the Grandmaster from the set of Thor: Ragnarok (2017) is used briefly during the end credits, with Feige explaining that Marvel "thought it would be fun to put it in there" especially since the comic version of Grandmaster is the brother of the Collector, who appeared in the first Guardians film.[74]Ben Browder, the star of the series Farscape, of which Gunn is an avid fan, cameos as a Sovereign Admiral.[75]Molly Quinn appears as Howard the Duck's date.[11] Jim Gunn Sr. and Leota Gunn, parents of James and Sean Gunn, also make cameo appearances in the film as an elderly couple on Earth.[76]Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s Guillermo Rodriguez has an uncredited cameo appearance as a police officer on Earth when the seedling was terraforming.[77][78]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
—James Gunn, writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, on the state of the sequel in August 2014[79]
In May 2014, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated he felt the first Guardians of the Galaxy film had "strong franchise potential."[80] He added that their goal was to create "another Avengers".[81] James Gunn, who directed and co-wrote the first film, said that he would like to return for a sequel, and that he was contractually obligated to if asked.[82] The next month, producer Kevin Feige said there are "places we can take [the franchise] and we have ideas of where we'd like to go" based on the wide array of characters, worlds and storylines from the comics.[83] In July 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy co-screenwriter Nicole Perlman confirmed a sequel, saying it was "going to happen" due to the positive internal response to the first film at Disney, and that Gunn would write and direct.[84][85] At San Diego Comic-Con International soon after, the sequel was given a release date of July 28, 2017.[86]
Gunn had begun work on the film within a month, and said it would include at least one new Guardian from the comics.[87][88] In October, Gunn confirmed that all five original Guardians would return for the sequel, along with other supporting characters,[89] and the release date was moved up to May 5, 2017.[90] In the following months, Michael Rooker said he would return as Yondu, and was looking forward to exploring new areas of the character.[30][91]Chris Pratt, who played Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the first film, confirmed the sequel would be one of his next projects.[6]Bradley Cooper expressed interest and excitement when asked if he would return as Rocket.[92]Vin Diesel also confirmed he would return as Groot.[18] In March 2015, Gunn revealed that filming would take place in Atlanta, Georgia with "major crew changes" from the first film, and that his brother, Sean Gunn, would return as Kraglin alongside Karen Gillan as Nebula.[47][93] He explained his relationship with Marvel, saying the company "let me go and do my thing, and I truly listen to their notes and ideas. I've never been told to put in any character or plot element at all... When they trust you they give you a wide berth... we just fit."[93]
In May, Gunn said the sequel would feature fewer characters than the first film, and that he had planned to introduce two major new characters in the script—Mantis and Adam Warlock.[5][7] Talks had begun with an actor Gunn had in mind to portray Mantis,[94] while he had decided to remove Warlock due to the film "getting too busy", explaining, "one of the main things with Guardians of the Galaxy is not to add a bunch of characters, not to make it bigger in that way but to go deeper with the characters... and getting to know them more emotionally... everything is just getting too sprawling and too crazy for me in these superhero comic book movies."[7] Gunn added, "I adored what we had done with him. I think we did something really creative and unique with Adam Warlock. But it was one character too many and I didn't want to lose Mantis and Mantis was more organically part of the movie anyway."[5] He noted that Warlock could appear in future Guardians films, and is considered "a pretty important part" of the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[5][95] The character's future introduction is hinted at in one of the film's mid-credits scenes.[4] Gunn noted that Marvel gave him "some blowback" for including the Warlock teaser because they felt fans would believe the character would be appearing in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which was not the case. By including the scene, Gunn promised Marvel he would use his social media presence to clarify for fans that the character would not be seen in either of the Avengers films.[96]
Writing[edit]
After the film's announcement, Gunn said he knew "a lot of where I want to go [in the sequel]",[97] having written the backstory of Peter Quill, his father, and his history with Yondu during the making of the first film with the intention of exploring them in a future film.[19] Gunn wanted to give the sequel a different structure from the first film, since "one of the reasons people like Guardians is because it's fresh and different, so the second one will be fresh and different from the first one."[98] Before starting on the script, Gunn hoped to further explore Drax, Nebula, Kraglin, and the Collector, and expand on Xandarian, Kree, Krylorian, and Ravager culture.[97][99] He also hoped to introduce more female characters in the sequel, though wanted to avoid including "earthlings" such as Carol Danvers,[100] as well as Novas Richard Rider or Sam Alexander, saying, "I think Quill being the only earthling is important. That serves the entire movie-going audience and not just the handful of Nova [and Carol Danvers] fans."[101]
Feige said exploring Quill's father "would certainly be part of a next Guardians adventure", adding "I think there's a reason we seeded it at the very end of the [first] film like that."[102] Gunn also stated that he wanted to make sure "Yondu's place in everything made sense" in regards to his relationship to Quill and his father, and also revealed Quill's father would not be J'son as in the comics.[55] Gunn "was less confident [Marvel] was going to buy in on Baby Groot than" including Ego, since "adult Groot was the most popular character from the first film and I didn't think they'd want to risk a good thing." However, by changing Groot, Gunn felt it "opened the film up" creatively, allowing Gunn to bring out "new aspects of our other characters."[103] Gunn said Thanos would only appear in the sequel "if he helps our story and he will not show up at all if not. Thanos is not the most important thing in Guardians 2, that's for damn sure. There's the Guardians themselves and other threats the Guardians are going to be facing that are not Thanos."[55] Feige later confirmed that Thanos would not appear in the sequel, as he was being saved for a "grander" return.[104][105] When asked about how the film would connect with the other Phase Three films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gunn said, "I don't feel beholden to that stuff at all. I think it's really about the Guardians and what they are doing."[106]
Gunn set the film two to three months after the first film[95][107] "because he felt the group are just such fragile egos and he didn't think this story could start years later."[95] Major planets visited in the film include Sovereign, Berhart and Contraxia. Feige also stated two or three other worlds would be seen, as well as "a little bit of Earth in this film, but it's not these characters going to Earth."[13] In December 2014, Gunn revealed the story for the film was written, saying, "It's [still] constantly shifting, but I feel like it's pretty strong. I'm excited about it."[108] By early February 2015, Gunn was "a few short weeks" away from submitting a full story treatment to Marvel, and said that when he first presented his idea for the sequel to the company they thought it was "risky". He described it as "not really based on anything" from the comics, being mainly an original story.[109][110] Gunn later referred to the full treatment as a "scriptment", "a 70-page combination of a script and a treatment and it goes through every beat of the movie".[7] By April, he was preparing to write the screenplay,[109] and in May he was hoping to complete the script before he began work on The Belko Experiment in June 2015.[94]
Pre-production[edit]
On June 2, 2015, Gunn announced on social media that he had completed the first draft of the screenplay, and that the film's title would not simply be Guardians of the Galaxy 2.[111] The same week, he confirmed the return of Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and Cooper as Gamora, Drax, and Rocket, respectively.[7] At the end of the month, Gunn announced the film would be titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,[112] saying he "came up with a LOT of titles for Vol. 2. But because 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is already so wordy, it seemed strange to add another bunch of words after it. I liked Vol. 2 the best, so that's what I stuck on the cover of the screenplay—and, fortunately, [Marvel] liked it."[113]
In September 2015, Gunn said in a Facebook post that he wanted to use Sneepers, an alien race that first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1964, as background characters in the film, but was advised against it by Marvel's legal department because the name was too similar to snípur, the Icelandic word for clitoris.[114] The Marvel legal department later cleared the use of Sneepers in the film, in part because of all the media coverage Gunn's initial post received.[115] At the end of the month, Feige stated casting announcements would be made before the end of 2015,[116] and by the end of October, Pom Klementieff was cast as Mantis.[39][117] Also, it was reported that Matthew McConaughey had recently turned down the role of "the villain" in the film,[118] in favor of The Dark Tower (2017). McConaughey felt he would have been "an amendment" in Vol. 2 in "a colorful part [made] for another big-name actor."[119] In December, Gunn said that he was corresponding with John C. Reilly about him reprising his role as Nova CorpsmanRhomann Dey,[120] while Kurt Russell entered early talks to play Quill's father.[121] After the death of David Bowie in January 2016, Gunn said that there had been discussions for Bowie to appear in the film as a member of Yondu's original crew.[122][123] Gunn also stated that he had completed the final draft of the script.[124]Benicio del Toro, who portrayed the Collector in the first film, expressed interest in portraying the character again, despite Marvel not contacting him about the sequel;[125] Gunn explained that the Collector "just didn't fit" into Vol. 2.[126] In early February, comedian Steve Agee was revealed to be in the film.[62]
Prop master Russell Bobbitt had difficulty finding the cassette decks that had been used in the first film, and all of the SonyWalkman headsets they sourced for the sequel were broken. Sony also did not have any headsets available for filming, while three pairs Bobbitt found on eBay cost around $1,800 and were not the exact model. Bobbitt eventually created six from scratch for Vol. 2. Other props he created for the film included two sets of blasters for Quill, with removable blaster cartridges, and "steampunk-looking weapons and belts" for the Ravagers;[23] Bobbitt explained that four different weapons were designed for the latter group, and then 15–20 versions of those were produced to be used by the various Ravager actors (there could be up to 85–95 Ravagers per scene). For their belts, the props team cut the leather themselves rather than buying existing belts, and then parts from different electronic devices such as radios and cell phones were glued together to make each belt "a unique piece of art". The prop department also made edible props for certain scenes: a prop of a stinkbug-inspired insect was made from chocolate and injected with black honey so it could be eaten on screen and "when he bit down the honey poured out of his mouth"; similarly, a "yarrow root" was designed based on enlarged images of pollen, and then created with non-dairy white chocolate to be eaten onscreen.[34]
Filming[edit]
Pre-shooting began on February 11, 2016,[127] at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia,[128] under the working title Level Up,[95] with Henry Braham serving as cinematographer and Scott Chambliss as production designer.[7][129] Gunn noted that many of the crew from the first film, such as cinematographer Ben Davis and production designer Charles Wood, signed on to work on Doctor Strange, and due to a late change in production schedule for that film, were unable to work on Vol. 2.[130][131]
Principal photography began on February 17,[42] with Marvel confirming that Russell had joined the cast, and revealing that Elizabeth Debicki and Chris Sullivan had also been cast, all in undisclosed roles.[42] The production used all 18 stages at Pinewood Atlanta, an increase in stage space from what was used for the first film. Gunn said the sequel required more sets than the first and "our sets are very large, even though a lot of the film is CGI. I like to have as many practical sets as we can and make the environments as real as possible so it balances out the CGI elements." Despite this, Gunn noted that there were less locations featured in the sequel, with the focus instead on being more specific and detailed with fewer places shown. Sets constructed for the film included several for the Sovereign planet, for which Chambliss used a "1950s pulp fiction variation on 1930s art deco design aesthetic"; the Ravager's main ship in the film, the Eclector, which was constructed in sections to provide a complete 360-degree view of the ship as well as the ability to move sections around and portray different areas of the ship; and the Iron Lotus establishment on the "pleasure planet" of Contraxia, which Chambliss wanted to feel like it had been put together from "a whole yard of repurposed junk where old spaceships are cast away and industrial materials that aren't of use anymore are just left to rot", creating a "kind of neon jungle in its own way and covered in ice and snow." Interiors for other ships were also constructed, to limit the amount of blue screen the actors had to interact with;[34] this includes the cockpit of Quill's ship that had been built for the first film before being stored in London which was transported to Atlanta for the sequel.[132]
Vol. 2 was the first film to be shot with an 8K resolution camera, the Red Weapon 8K.[133] Braham had wanted to use a different camera than the Alexa 65 that had been used for several other Marvel films, because he found it to be a "very big and heavy camera". He wanted a camera that could deliver equivalent image quality to the Alexa 65, and tested multiple options. He eventually met with Red employees, whom he had a positive experience with working on The Legend of Tarzan, and they introduced him to an early prototype for the Weapon 8K. He, Gunn, and Marvel decided to use the camera in September 2015, when only that single prototype existed, and spent three months working with Red to get the camera ready for filming.[132] For the sequence where Rocket and Yondu escape from the Ravagers, a Phantom Camera was used to film scenes up to 2,000 frames per second, with the footage able to be moved from slow-motion to high-speed within a single shot. Each shot using the camera had to be carefully set up and choreographed.[134] Additional scenes were also shot in IMAX and its aspect ratio.[95] Braham filmed almost 85 percent of the film using a stabilizing technology he had contributed to called Stabileye, which he called "a handhelddolly" which allowed "a spontaneity to the way the camera moves that is different and that felt appropriate for this movie." For filming the cockpits of spaceships, Braham surrounded the practical sets with video panels and other light sources that he could use to create realistic lighting no matter the environment outside the ship. Exteriors of the ships were filmed with the camera on a technocrane, but any shots inside the cockpits again used the Stabileye which is "so small that you can get it in there next to the actors".[132]
In April 2016, Gunn revealed that Reilly would not be part of the film, and stated that there were many other characters he could not include in the film due to rights issues, saying that 20th Century Fox "owns so many awesome cosmic villains and minor characters that I'd love to play around with" such as Annihilus and Kang the Conqueror.[126] Gunn also planned on filming scenes with Glenn Close, reprising her role as Nova Prime Irani Rael from the first film.[19]:4 When filming Stan Lee's cameo, Gunn also filmed two other cameos with Lee including one for Doctor Strange, to limit the amount of travel Lee had to do.[76][135] Additional filming for Vol. 2 took place in Cartersville, Georgia,[136]a state park north of Portland, Oregon,[27] and in St. Charles, Missouri.[137] The Georgia International Convention Center served as additional soundstage space after pre-production on Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) began at several Pinewood Atlanta soundstages.[95] Principal photography wrapped on June 16, 2016.[138]
Post-production[edit]
At San Diego Comic-Con 2016, Russell and Debicki were revealed to be playing Ego, Quill's father, and Ayesha, respectively.[32]Sylvester Stallone was also revealed to be in the film,[32] with his role later revealed as Stakar Ogord.[49] Gunn also introduced multiple actors who were playing Ravager characters, since the Ravagers have a larger presence in the film.[44] On the decision to reveal Russell as Ego and Quill's father when he did, Gunn felt that since "people were going to figure it out eventually [...] it was better that we took the reins in our own hands" and make the reveal. Gunn also felt that this would move the focus of audiences from wanting to discover who Quill's father is to "the story and the relationship that these characters have".[139] In August 2016, Gunn confirmed the film would feature a post-credits scene,[107] later stating there would be five in total, with four mid-credits scenes and one post-credits.[140][141] Gunn also planned a sixth scene, where the Ravager Gef is found "mortally wounded" on the ship, but "it ended up being a little confusing."[142]
In November, Gillan revealed that the film was undergoing reshoots.[143] That February, it was reported that the film had scored a perfect 100 in test screenings, the highest for any Marvel Studios film. The Hollywood Reporter noted this score could not necessarily be compared to any non-Marvel movies due to Marvel's specific testing process that selects its audience "from a more select pool of recruits, what it terms 'friends and families screenings'".[144] In March 2017, Gunn revealed that Michael Rosenbaum would appear in the film,[51] and that Gunn would provide reference for Baby Groot's dancing "in a much bigger way [than the first film]. I actually had to do like a full day's worth of dancing to get Groot's dance down this time. Last time it was me in front of an iPhone, and this time it's me dancing on a huge soundstage and shooting it from five different angles."[145]Fred Raskin and Craig Wood returned from the first film to serve as editors.[42] On scenes that were cut from the film, Gunn said Nathan Fillion, who had had a voice cameo in the first film, was going to appear as Simon Williams in a sequence that would have shown several movie posters for films starring Williams, including films in which he portrays Arkon and Tony Stark.[146][147] Gunn chose Williams for Fillion's cameo because he wanted Fillion to have a bigger role in the MCU at some point and so did not want to give him a role that could prevent him from taking a more substantial one later. Gunn still considered Fillion's cameo canon to the MCU, despite it being cut.[148] He also confirmed that Close's scenes had been cut from the film, because it felt like he "was trying to cram Nova Prime into the second movie as opposed to having it happen organically."[76]
-