James Gunn Reveals How 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' Is A Very Different Movie

Back when Marvel first announced Guardians of the Galaxy, it was seen as a big risk; after all, it featured a talking raccoon and a walking tree! James Gunn wowed the world, though, and the film became a blockbuster hit. This year will see the inevitable sequel, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 promising to be a fun, action-packed and visually thrilling adventure.

#Marvel's teasers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are absolutely tantalizing. The trailers have given us a sense of the film's style and wonder, but they've deliberately avoided dropping any hints about the plot. The newest trailer — dropped during the Super-Bowl — is no exception; it gives us our first glimpse of the villain, Ayesha, but doesn't even hint at her motives or plan!

#JamesGunn was thrilled with the trailer, so much so that he quickly logged onto Facebook Live to chat with the fans! He didn't drop any real hints or teasers, but he did make one pretty important statement. He revealed that, even though this is a sequel, Vol. 2 will be a very different film to the 2014 hit.

A True Team Film

#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy was largely the story of Chris Pratt's Star-Lord. It opened with the story of Peter Quill's abduction, and climaxed in his confrontation with Ronan, in which he somehow survived wielding the power of an Infinity Stone. It was a team origin story, but all of the other characters really orbited around the central hero, Star-Lord.

That won't be the case with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. When one fan expressed a concern that the film would have too many characters, Gunn responded by giving a promise that every single Guardian would have their own arc. Where the first film centered upon Star-Lord, this is truly a team film, one in which each character has their moment to shine.

The first film was scripted at speed, but this time around Gunn has had the time to really work on his script. He's plotted character journeys for every member of the team, with crises and moments of self-discovery. We can expect to see every single member of the Guardians explored at depth — including the new recruits, Yondu and Mantis.

More characterization, not just more characters.

Reflecting on this, Gunn admitted that one of his concerns with a lot of team movies is that they just have too many characters, many of whom are there for no real purpose or have no real character journey. In fact, he added, he's seen the problem in comic books too (he's right, and the problem is particularly common with "Summer Events": many characters effectively become "wallpaper," existing purely in the background of important scenes.

James Gunn has done his level best to ensure Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 avoids this mistake; in fact, he teased that he even dropped one character just in case.

Let's face it, James Gunn's words are music to our ears. Whereas the first film used Star-Lord to introduce us to the cosmic side of the #MCU, this second one has a lot more room to breathe.

That's why the trailers to date haven't focused on any one character; they've reminded us that this is truly a team movie, with every character given their moment in the sun. And that's just the way it should be.

Source: Facebook