James Gunn – the director of Marvel”s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise – has been on fire this week. Production recently began on Volume 2 of the gang”s space adventures and so far we”ve seen the official logo for GotG2 and a diatribe by Gunn blasting Hollywood suits.
Now we get the first official image of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) saddled up and back in action. For the most part, the group looks about the same. Star-Lord is geared up in his red-laser eyes helmet, Gamora ditched the skirt from the end of Guardians for pants (and I”m still mad Disney doesn”t sell replicas of her boots), Drax appears shirtless and armed to the teeth. And of course Rocket manages to look sassy even without seeing his face. There's even a nod to the unique role music plays in the series. Either that or they're all about to go on tour, with 200+ stops across the known galaxy.
But the real joy is Groot. Adorable, ‘OH MY GOD I NEED A LIFE-SIZED PLUSH NOW” Groot.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 hits theaters on May 5, 2017.