By Just about everyone on the planet loved last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy, so surely even the smallest scraps of news on its sequel count as a big deal, right? Of course it does. Returning director James Gunn recently answered questions on Periscope, Twitter’s new video app.
According to Gunn, work on the sequel is well underway – the treatment has been turned in, he says, and if all goes well he starts work on the full screenplay this week. Gunn also confirmed that he’s “very, very far along” on the script, saying he’s about 70 pages in.
All major stars – give or take a Glenn Close – are expected to return for the sequel, but Gunn confirms Lee Pace’s Ronan is definitely dead as a doornail. Karen Gillan is expected to return as the villainous Nebula, though, so expect more glowering and cool action sequences.
Even with that scant bit of information, there’s still a lot about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – which will presumably get a fancy subtitle sometime soon – that we don’t actually know. We know it’s expected to hit theaters May 5, 2017. Where it fits into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe – or whether it will remain largely separate like the original did – remains to be seen, although the greater MCU seems to be introducing the Inhumans (who are tied to the Kree alien race) in a big way, so maybe the sequel will have stronger ties. If nothing else, we can expect lots of Chris Pratt learning to be a grown-up while making quips and listening to ’70s rock songs about coitus that his mom weirdly gave him when he was a kid.