Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Star-Lord's father revealed
The studio's Comic-Con panel also showed audiences a first trailer for the upcoming sequel
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Your support makes all the difference.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may not be the next on Marvel's slate, but it's certainly the most feverishly anticipated.
The studio's ambitious, willingly-weird offshoot paid off handsomely in the first Guardians of the Galaxy; in a way, it's the film that truly turned the tide of Marvel's cinematic approaches, ensuring that its future slate would be tonally diverse in its content. It's because of Guardians we can most likely now look forward to Doctor Strange or Thor: Ragnarok.
The worry now was whether a sequel could sustain the energy of the first; yet, Marvel's Comic-Con panel did a huge amount to boost confidence and soothe any niggling worries about the sequel.
One of the most immediately interesting moves on the panel's part was the revelation of one of the film's most intensely kept secrets, the identity of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)'s father. That was revealed to be Kurt Russell's Ego the Living Planet (via SlashFilm); who, though in the comics he takes the form of an actual talking planet, will be here seen in a human guise he has created for himself.
It had long been rumoured Ego would be making an appearance in the film, but this is a pretty surprising turn of events; no one had any clue he'd turned out to be Star-Lord's father, nor that he'd be played by Russell himself.
And though it may appear to spoil the surprise of the film, Marvel's actually done something pretty smart here. As with the revelation of Rey's parentage in Star Wars, there's a danger that focusing too much hype on this kind of narrative secret is only going to end up leaving a large portion of fans disappointed when the result doesn't turn out to be what they hoped.
By confirming Star-Lord's own parentage so early on, the burden has been lifted on director James Gunn; meaning fans can enter the cinema expectation-free, and ready instead to enjoy the dynamics of Ego and Peter Quill's developing relationship.
The reveal formed part of an exclusive trailer shown to Comic-Con audiences; which also previewed the likes of Pom Klementieff's Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki's Ayesha, Baby Groot, and Sylvester Stallone in a mysterious role.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits UK cinemas 31 July, 2017.
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