During Writers Guild Foundation’s 2-day long WGFestival at the Pickford Center, “Guardians of the Galaxy” writer-director James Gunn discussed his voyage into screenwriting, shared advice for aspiring writers and directors, and even shared some intel with fans about his upcoming sequel “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”

“Rocket’s character I relate to more than anybody; Rocket is me,” Gunn shared. “He has the anger issues that I have and he has the same inability to accept love that I have.”

In the moderated discussion with KCRW host Elvis Mitchell at the Writers Guild Festival on Saturday, Gunn added that he was completely excited about doing the sequel.

“On the second movie I had a lot more freedom,” Gunn said. “Because the first movie did well and it was great not having to explain the five major characters to the audience in the first half hour, we just go straight into the story.”

The writer also gave some insight about his process when beginning a new project, which he assured was no small feat. From creating lengthy 70-page treatments to finishing screenplays six months ahead of time to the preparation it takes to ensure that the sequel to a movie doesn’t stand in the shadow of it’s predecessor, Gunn made it clear that he likes to make sure all of his bases are covered.

“This has to be its own thing and you can’t start making this a sh—y Xerox of the first one,” the director mused with his fans.

The discussion also gave one particular fan in the audience a tease for the upcoming film, which is set for a spring 2017 release. The spoiler alert shared was that Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) meets his father (Kurt Russell) within the first 20 minutes, a piece of information that left one particular fan gushing in the audience.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” bows May 5 in theaters nationwide.