FILM · 2017 · USA

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

Directed by

James Gunn

Runtime

137 min

Studio

Marvel Studios

160 archived facts · 7 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Sep 2026

The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage.

Summary: TMDB

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10 Easter Eggs and References in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2

1. #014
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   One of the final post-credits scenes shows the Sovereign creating a kind of cocoon for a new being called "Adam." This is presumed to refer to the character Adam Warlock.

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2. #021
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   In the film's final section, the actor can be seen dancing in his Grandmaster costume. This is a small nod to Thor: Ragnarok (2017), in which he plays the Grandmaster. That film's trailer had been released only a few weeks before this film's May 2017 premiere.

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3. #075

   Nathan Fillion, who has appeared in all of James Gunn's films, had a cameo as Simon Williams/Wonder Man. A scene was shot at the Simon Williams Film Festival featuring various posters for fictional films starring Williams (Fillion). The scene was cut, but Gunn shared the posters online. One of the fake films was a parody of The Toxic Avenger (1984), directed by Gunn's mentor Lloyd Kaufman, and another was a Tony Stark biography whose poster directly imitated Steve Jobs (2015). This is the only Gunn film in which Fillion does not appear in any way. Fans speculated that Fillion would still play Wonder Man at some point in the MCU, but Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ultimately took the role in Wonder Man (2026). Fillion eventually voiced Wonder Man in M.O.D.O.K. (2021) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

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4. #083
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   Baby Groot's vomiting moment is a nod to James Gunn's B-movie roots and to how he is "not unwilling to resort to the lowest common denominator which is a baby tree vomiting."

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5. #092
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   The film takes place three months after the first one, with events occurring in 2014. Stan Lee's cameo mentions that he is a postman, a potential nod to his cameo in the previous year's Captain America: Civil War (2016). However, the events of that film take place in 2016. Alternatively, it could be a reference to his small role in Fantastic Four (2005), in which he played Baxter Building postman Willie Lumpkin.

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6. #093

   James Gunn has "a list of about 500 songs that I think of as Meredith Quill songs she would really love," keeps the list on his computer and refers to it while writing the treatment and the script. When he relayed the story process to the Marvel team, he also included a CD of the relevant tracks.

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7. #095
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   As the Sovereign chase the Guardians, they use remotely controlled ships. The consoles they operate resemble those in video game arcades of the 1980s and 1990s, especially as eliminated pilots gather around the last remaining starfighter and cheer it on. As a nod to these classic games, the Guardians fly into the Quantum Asteroid Field to escape. "Asteroids" is a very early arcade console game.

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8. #100

   The film's subtitle is a reference to Star-Lord's Awesome Mixtape Vol. 2, the second tape from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

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9. #132
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   It is one of two back-to-back cameo appearances in David Hasselhoff's filmography. In this film, it is mentioned that the Knight Rider (1982) series influenced Star-Lord as a child. The other film is Baywatch (2017), which was also released in May 2017. Coincidentally, the actor appears as a guest star in both films.

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10. #151

    Although it had long been called Marvel Studios, this is the first film to read Marvel Studios in its title design instead of just 'Marvel' as used in previous films.

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