FILM · 2017 · USA
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- Directed by
- James Gunn
- Runtime
- 137 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios
32 archived facts 3 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
19 Facts From the Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
- #001
In May 2014, Disney CEO Bob Iger said he believed the first Guardians of the Galaxy film had strong franchise potential and that the goal was to create another Avengers.
- #002
James Gunn, director and co-writer of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, said he wanted to return for a sequel and was contractually obligated to do so if asked.
- #003
In July 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy co-screenwriter Nicole Perlman confirmed a sequel was going to happen because of positive internal response at Disney, and that James Gunn would write and direct; at San Diego Comic-Con soon after, the sequel was given a release date of July 28, 2017.
- #005
James Gunn removed Adam Warlock from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 because the film was becoming too crowded, saying he did not want to lose Mantis, who was more organically part of the movie.
- #007
James Gunn used Adam Warlock in his sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but found it difficult to feature the character in that story, describing it as fitting a weird square peg into a round hole.
- #008
James Gunn stated that he already knew much of the direction he wanted the sequel to take, having developed the backstory of Peter Quill, his father and Quill's history with Yondu while making the first film, with the aim of exploring it in a later movie.
- #009
James Gunn's first concept for a Guardians sequel centered on Rocket and Groot as the leads and would have detailed Rocket's origin, but he decided Peter Quill's origins needed to be told first.
- #010
James Gunn wanted the sequel to have a different structure from the first film, reasoning that audiences liked Guardians because it was fresh and different, so the second would be fresh and different as well.
- #011
James Gunn said he wanted Yondu's place in everything to make sense regarding his relationship to Quill and Quill's father, and revealed that Quill's father would not be J'son as in the comics.
- #012
James Gunn was less confident Marvel would approve Baby Groot than Ego, since adult Groot was the most popular character from the first film and he did not think they would want to risk a good thing; changing Groot opened the film up creatively for Gunn.
- #013
James Gunn placed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 two to three months after the first film, explaining that the group's fragile egos made a story set years later unworkable.
- #014
In December 2014, James Gunn said the story for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had been written and described it as constantly shifting but strong.
- #015
By early February 2015, James Gunn was a few short weeks from submitting a full story treatment to Marvel, which had initially considered his sequel idea risky.
- #016
While developing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, James Gunn considered killing off Gamora because Zoe Saldaña had originally expected to play the role only in the first film.
- #017
Contains a major spoiler — show
During months of planning Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Russo brothers told James Gunn that Marvel intended Gamora to die in Infinity War instead.
- #018
Contains a major spoiler — show
James Gunn ultimately decided that Yondu Udonta should die at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to rescue Quill, despite his initial reluctance to kill off Michael Rooker's character because of their friendship; in hindsight he felt the story set up Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 perfectly.
- #019
On June 2, 2015, James Gunn announced on social media that he had finished the first draft of the screenplay for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and that the title would not be simply Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
- #021
At the end of June 2015, James Gunn announced that the film would be titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, explaining that he had considered many titles but chose Vol. 2 because the existing franchise name was already wordy and Marvel liked his choice.
- #028
Pre-shooting on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 began on February 11, 2016, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, under the working title Level Up.
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