Posted in: Movies | Tagged: film, guardians of the galaxy, guardians of the galaxy vol. 2, james gunn, marvel

James Gunn Explains The Motivations Of Everyone In 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2'

Guardians of the Galaxy took the world by storm and is widely considered to be one of the best Marvel movies to date. Ironically, despite being one of the weirdest properties, it was also one of the more approachable series for people who haven't been invested in the MCU since 2008. It saw a huge box office and critical acclaim so it's not surprising that the sequel might be one of the most anticipated movies of 2017. CinemaBlend recently sat down to talk to James Gunn about his new movie The Belko Experiment, but toward the end of the interview they did bring up Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Gunn gave some details about the basic motivations of each of the expanded cast without being too specific.

That's the first thing people say when they see the movie. The first movie was about Peter Quill, and the second movie has every single character have a complete arc, a complete story. They each learn something. It's a story about Peter Quill, with his father, but also his abusive step-father, Yondu.

While the first movie was more about bringing the team together, this time we get to see each of them evolve in very different ways. Peter Quill is a stunted character both by the fact that he was abducted at such a young age, and the way he was brought up. How he will react to finding his father but also finding out that Yondu was hired to abduct him will likely lead to some very interesting character interactions.

It's about Nebula's relationship with her sister, Gamora, and how that's not all that we saw in the first movie. It's a lot deeper and more complicated than that. We thought in the first movie that Gamora was the good guy, and Nebula's the bad guy, but that really isn't the whole story.

One of the things that should have gotten more development in the first film, though it's not surprising it didn't considering how much else was going on, was Gamora and Nebula's relationship. They are "sisters", not by blood but by circumstance. While some characters might have bonded together to deal with the torture that they were both being put through, it appears that in this case they went for the hostile and competitive relationship. Gamora is an assassin, though her extremely violent past has not been touched on in the movie yet. It's actually unclear just how much everyone knows about what she has done. Rocket had heard of her but that doesn't mean he knows everything.

I think it's a story about this poor little Rocket, who is in search of a father and in search of a somebody to give a shit, who cannot find it – and maybe does a little bit with Michael Rooker's character.

Another thing that was sadly but again understandably unexplored is Rocket and how he was created. There is a fantastic line from the original movie that not only applies to Rocket but could be a thematic arc for several characters in the MCU who are changed or created against their will; "Well I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some little monster!" Rocket also 'lost' his best friend, in a way, when Groot sacrificed himself, so it'll be interesting to see him not only interact with this new Groot, but also someone as morally dubious as Yondu.

It's about Dave Bautista and Mantis together, who become on the one hand close friends, and then on the other hand she's a surrogate daughter for the daughter that was murdered.

We know that Drax is motivated by revenge and now he's shifted his focus from Ronan to Thanos. However, we also know that he was a husband and a father at some point, but we've never had the chance to see that version of Drax. The idea that he is going to take a character like Mantis and become her father figure (yay platonic relationships) is going to give us a whole new side to Drax that we've never seen before. The first movie, and from the sounds of it even more so this one, is about the concept of a found family. While Drax might have found friends in his fellow Guardians the idea that he will find a daughter in Mantis is likely going to be an emotional gut punch.

And of course Baby Groot's relationship with all of them, they are the worst parents in the entire world! Who else brings a two-year-old son into a giant battle with a giant monster? Terrible parents! And maybe Gamora and Rocket are better than the other two. The other two are terrible. All of those things come together in a way that seems pretty magical.

The Groot we are getting in this movie is a fundamentally different character from the one we knew in the previous movie. While Groot can grow back from just a twig, he comes back with all of his memories. This Groot is an entirely new creature that is under the care of people that can barely take care of themselves, let alone something that is being likened to a child. Perhaps this will be another way we'll see Drax's father side come out? Or the way that Gamora manages to truly find her sense of 'humanity'? Or the thing that makes Peter grow up? There are a million different ways each of the characters could interact with Groot while we also get to see the universe through a creature that is truly innocent.

When we first got a look at Guardians of the Galaxy none of us were really sure if it was going to work. Now that we're getting a sequel — and while it does look completely bonkers and hilarious — it also appears to be approaching the idea of family. These are all lost souls that came together as a team to save the galaxy in one movie, and now they are coming together as a family to save it again.

Welcome to the freakin Guardians of the Galaxy indeed.

The Belko Experiment will be released on May 17, 2017 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be released on May 5, 2017.

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