In 2014, Marvel continued their winning streak with the big-screen adaptation of comic book franchise Guardians Of The Galaxy. Starring Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, wrestler Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper, the film quickly became one of the runaway success of the year and proved that Marvel could smash it with ensemble cast that didn’t feature the likes of Iron Man, The Hulk, et al.

A sequel, therefore, was a no-brainer and in 2017 we’ll be getting the next instalment in what is likely to become one of Marvel’s most successful franchises. We go in on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 to discover its release date, which of the cast will be back and who’s going to feature on the massive soundtrack.

Have we seen a Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 trailer?

We’ve actually had a few. In October, the first teaser trailer was released and that was followed up with a longer one soon after. However the full trailer was released in early December, which you can watch below

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Here’s the third trailer, featuring the first teaser of Kurt Russell.

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When is Guardians of the Galaxy 2 released?

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The film is scheduled for UK release on April 28, 2017 – a whole week before the US.

Which of the cast are returning?

Set two months after the end of the first film, the same team continues travelling and fighting together Chris Pratt is returning in the leading roll of Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord. Following his victories in the first film, the character has a new sense of leadership and fame for his heroism. Zoe Saldana also returns as Gamora, as well as Vin Diesel as voice of the the beloved tree humanoid Groot (who’s now a baby, remember), and Bradley Cooper as raccoon bounty hunter, Rocket. Karen Gillian is also returning in the sequel as Nebula and in the second film, director James Gunn has revealed that her character will become ‘huge’ part of the plot.

Any new cast members?


Gunn has revealed that Kurt Russell will be joining the cast and will be playing Star-Lord’s father, Ego. Gunn also confirmed that French actress Pom Klementieff is joining the cast as Mantis – a psychic woman who is the prophesied saviour of a race of alien trees. Fan favourite of TV show Sons of Anarchy , Tommy Flanagan also will star in the new film, playing the right hand man of Yondu Udonta, leader of the Ravagers. In terms of cameos, its been revealed that Sylvester Stallone will have a small but “very key, important role”.

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Who will feature on the soundtrack?

The original film’s soundtrack, which serves as a ‘cosmic mixtape’ of Star-Lord’s favourite songs (ranging from the Jackson 5 to David Bowie), duly topped the download charts following its release and became a surprise hit on vinyl. The second film is likely to have a similarly great accompanying soundtrack, though we’re still yet to hear what that could be. Director Gunn has promised a soundtrack “more diverse” than the first, with “some really incredibly famous songs and then some songs that people have never heard.”

Fans have speculated that the two songs that feature in the trailer – ‘Come A Little Bit Closer’ by Jay and the Americans and ‘The Chain’ by Fleetwood Mac – could feature on the soundtrack and Gunn was cryptic with his response. “Am I saying these songs are part of Awesome Mix Vol.2? Not necessarily. But they are great tunes…” he said on Facebook.

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In terms of score – we’ve heard a few snippets of the music for the film via Gunn’s Instagram.

The full tacklist for the ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Volume 2 ‘Awesome Mix’ has now been revealed

ELO – ‘Mr. Blue Sky’

Sweet – ‘Fox on the Run’

Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah – ‘Lake Shore Drive’

Fleetwood Mac – ‘The Chain’

Sam Cooke – ‘Bring it On Home to Me’

Glen Campbell – ‘Southern Nights’

George Harrison – ‘My Sweet Lord’

Looking Glass – ‘Brandy You’re a Fine Girl’

Jay and the Americans – ‘Come a Little Bit Closer’

Silver – ‘Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang’

Cheap Trick – ‘Surrender’

Yusuf / Cat Stevens – ‘Father and Son’

Parliament – ‘Flashlight’

The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff – ‘Guardians Inferno’

What’s going to go down?

Plot wise, the trailer is smart to give little away about what we could see in the film. However we do know that the film is set to explore Peter Quill’s relationship with his father – a new character played by Kurt Russell. Despite rumours of The Guardians joining forces with The Avengers, this will evidently wait until after Avengers: Infinity War, as director Gunn has said that there will be no more Marvel characters having a cameo in the film.

The former Doctor Who actress returns as villainous alien-cyborg Nebula in the superhero sequel, but predicts her character won’t be quite so unpopular second time around.”I think we might even feel a tinge of sympathy towards Nebula this time, because we really start to see the emotional crack in her character,” Gillan told TheWrap.

Continuing, Gillan explained that Nebula’s relationship with her father Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, could be key to our revised view of the character. “What I love about the second movie for Nebula in particular is that we get… we know that she’s a pretty angry woman with some daddy issues. [But] in the second movie, we’re going to start to see how much pain her father actually caused her, and we’re going to delve right into the relationship with her sister Gamora.

What’s happened to Groot?

At the end of the first film, we saw Groot reborn into a baby/sapling version of himself. That little regeneration featured in the full trailer – but did catch some flack from fans. Director Gunn has defended the decision, after critics claimed it was to sell merchandise profiting off of the cuteness, and responded by saying that it was necessary for the plot.

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Vin Diesel – who voiced the character in the first film – has revealed that Groot could be getting a solo film and that James Gunn would “love to do” it.

Additional reporting by Perdi Harris