Guardians of the Galaxy has had an incredible impact on the film industry. The movie’s style of intense action mixed in with a lighter tone and comedic banter between the characters has become something of a goal for other movies looking to find the same sort of success as James Gunn’s intergalactic effort in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There is a reason why films would like to emulate what Guardians of the Galaxy did. While initially considered a rather risky project that was supposedly bound to be among Marvel Studios’ least popular, Guardians was a runaway hit. In fact, it pulled in around $770 million during its run at the box office, and attained a solid response from audiences, more than enough for Marvel to push forward with a sequel, which is currently in production.
While a great deal remains unknown regarding the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, there are already several details that have in fact been revealed. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and more are set to reprise their roles from the first. Additionally, the cast is going to expand a bit this time around, as Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, and Kurt Russell are all set to join. Although, among those newcomers to the series, only Klementieff’s role as Mantis and Russell’s role as Peter Quill’s father have been revealed.
Now, yet another name can be added to the growing cast, as Heroic Hollywood reports (with Variety confirming) that Sons of Anarchy star Tommy Flanagan is the latest familiar face to join Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Heroic Hollywood adds that Flanagan will be portraying one of the Ravagers, described as Yondu’s “right hand man.”
The same report also says part of the plot of the sequel will involve the Ravagers having a bounty set on Rocket Raccoon. Beyond that, not much else is known regarding Flanagan’s role. However, considering the screen time the Ravagers had in the original Guardians of the Galaxy, it seems rather unlikely Flanagan’s part would be any different in terms of importance.
Plus, the plot point of a bounty on Rocket is probably not going to be the focal point of the film. For one, Gunn previously said that Guardians 2 is going to be “a story about fathers,” which means the relationship between Peter Quill and his dad is likely going to be the driving force of the film. If that’s the case, then it seems the Ravagers will play a similar role to the first Guardians – still involved throughout the film but by no means the center of it.
Captain America: Civil War will release on May 6, 2016, followed by Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016;Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; Inhumans – July 12, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on May 1, July 10 and November 6, 2020.
Source: Heroic Hollywood, Variety