Snake Plissken is going to space! Director James Gunn and Marvel announced Wednesday that Hollywood legend Kurt Russell — who played Plissken in 1981’s Escape From New York — is in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

“My favorite movie as a small child was The Strongest Man in the World,” wrote Gunn on Facebook, “so I’m glad to announce that, yes, Kurt Russell has joined our cast and, yes, he is more awesome a dude than I ever could have imagined.”

Gunn did not elaborate on who Russell will play in the film, but recent rumors strongly point to him portraying the father of Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord. (In a release from Marvel announcing the start of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 production, the studio teased “the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage.”) Russell’s other credits include The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Captain Ron, Overboard, Tombstone, Backdraft, and Grindhouse. Last year, he appeared in two Westerns: Bone Tomahawk and Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight.

Also joining the Guardians cast: Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, and Chris Sullivan. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, and Glenn Close, all of whom appeared in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, will return.

“I never thought anyone was missing from our island of misfit toys,” wrote Gunn of the new cast additions, “but now that these folks are here there feels like there was.”

In addition the news, Marvel also released a first photo from the film (seen above).

You can read Gunn’s entire statement below. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in theaters on May 5, 2017.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in theaters on May 5, 2017.

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