Kurt Russell confirmed for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
But will he be Star-Lord’s father?
Filming has just begun for James Gunn's superhero sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and one new cast member joining the team really caught our eye – Escape from New York and The Thing star Kurt Russell, who had previously been rumoured to be joining the outer-space gang.
Those rumours also suggested that Russell, most recently seen as bounty hunter John Ruth in The Hateful Eight, will play the father of Chris Pratt’s character Star-Lord, who was implied to have some sort of extraterrestrial origin in the original movie. His background is set to be a major plotline this time around.
Considering none of the other new actors joining the franchise (including The Man from UNCLE’s Elizabeth Debicki and The Knick’s Chris Sullivan) seem to fit that character profile, it seems likely we’ll get to see Pratt and Russell work out some daddy issues when the film’s released in April 2017.
Still, even if the casting turns out to be some kind of bait-and-switch there’ll still be plenty to enjoy this time around. Original stars and voice actors Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel and Glenn Close are returning, and we’re promised even more classic 80s hits on the soundtrack. We’re firing up our Walkmans already.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.