Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is still a glorious enigma wrapped in mystery and tinged with intrigue, but every day we’re getting closer to figuring out what this sequel is all about. Its director and writer James Gunn is pretty amped for it, as he has a risky treatment in the works. But on a more personal level, he’s excited to feature his favorite character in GOTG 2.
Gunn was answering fan questions on Twitter the other day when he dropped this exciting tidbit.
The only question is, which character is it? Gunn unfortunately didn't reveal which character is his favorite, but he's talked up a few names in the past. For one, he name dropped Nova, though he recently stopped the presses on that rumor by officially stating on Facebook that he wouldn’t be a part of GOTG 2. Nova, aka Richard Rider, is an Earth-born hero who was enlisted at an early age to succeed Rhomann Dey (played by John C. Reilly in GOTG) in the Nova Corps. As Gunn wrote, it’s important for Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill to be the only character of Earth in the sequel. In addition, Gunn also shot down another character for the sequel in a follow-up tweet.
So who’s left? Gunn also placed doubt over the inclusion of the talking otter, Lylla, for the same reason Nova won’t appear. (I.e. There’s nothing like Rocket ‘cept Rocket.) Word on the street is that Howard the Duck will be back in some capacity after getting introduced in that famous post-credits scene. There’s also a number of Marvel characters teased in the first film, including Cosmo, the dog suited up in that astronaut suit, and Adam Warlock, whose cocoon was spotted in one of The Collector’s glass cages. Now that the Infinity Stone completely trashed his museum, these two are out. In the comics, Warlock has a major part to play in the Infinity War saga as the wielder of the Soul Gem. On the other hand, Gunn could be referring to a new female character he wants to add. As he told Collider before, he hopes to induct another heroine into the Guardians.
It’s worth noting that Gunn previously said that his story treatment for GOTG 2 is an original concept he created while working on the first film. As he said, it’s not really based on anything and departs from the comics. For one, we know that the identity of Quill’s father will be different in the film, and Marvel called Gunn’s ideas "risky." Given that he was able to turn this band of intergalactic misfits into the next major sensation, however, they’re letting him run with his current plan.
