It was the one reveal from San Diego Comic-Con that arguably raised more questions that answers: Kurt Russell, star of The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China, is on board to play Ego, the Living Plant in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Now, we know what you’re thinking: No biggie, right? It’s just James Gunn offering a new spin on a relatively obscure character from the Marvel lore. Alas, it was the announcement that Russell’s Guardians 2 character is actually the father of Peter Quill (AKA Star-Lord) that really sent comic book fans into a tailspin.
Once the dust settled, we clocked eyes on Ego’s humanoid form, which helped shed some light on how Gunn plans to craft a tangible character for the moviegoing masses. But if you think that knowing the identity of Papa Quill will spoil your enjoyment of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, don’t; the filmmaker recently took to Facebook to explain his decision to get the story nugget out in the open on his own terms.
That said, knowing who Quill’s father is will not diminish your enjoyment of the film in any way. The story is not built to be a shocking twist in the same way [that] Luke’s father was Darth, Soylent Green was people, Rosebud was a sled, or that that pretty woman from Crying Game had a penis (I guess I should have said spoilers before all that). Ego [is] the emotional center of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 from the beginning to the end, and is not a twist.
With Chris Pratt back in the role of Star-Lord, Guardians will bring together Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista) and a baby Groot (Vin Diesel) in 2017. They’ll be going up against an army of Ravagers in the spacefaring sequel, while also contending with Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 checks in to theaters on May 5, 2017 replete with a whole new mixtape of awesome ’80s power ballads.