Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Are These 3 Characters New Team Members?

Over the past few weeks, a number of rumors have sprouted up regardingMarvel’sPhase ThreesequelGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. However, there is a big difference between the rumors that have surfaced lately and those that sprung up in the past, because writer-directorJames Gunnrevealed in November that he would no longer be commenting on any unconfirmed report that surfaces about the sequel. Today we have a new report fromGeek.com, which claims that three characters, two who have already been established, will be joiningStar-Lordand his crew of merry misfits in the sequel. There will be potential SPOILERS below, so read on at your own risk.

We know thatChris Prattwill be back as Star-Lord, alongsideDave Bautistaas Drax the Destroyer,Zoe Saldanaas Gamora,Vin Dieselas Groot andBradley Cooperas Rocket Raccoon. The only new cast member to be confirmed so far isPom Klementieff, who is rumored to be playingMantis, but that was never officially confirmed by the studio. This new report claims that Mantis will in fact be a part of the sequel, and that she is joining theGuardiansteam, along with originalGuardians of the Galaxycharacters Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Nebula (Karen Gillan).

While neither Yondu or Nebula have been officially announced yet, many expected both of these characters to return, but this is the first we’re hearing that they’ll actually join the Guardians themselves. Yondu essentially served as a surrogate father of sorts to Peter Quill, after he took him from Earth when he was just a young boy. Yondu was originally supposed to deliver the young boy to his mysterious father, but he never did, making Quill part of his Ravagers crew.

As for Nebula, she is the sister of Gamora, and we saw they had quite the intense sibling rivalry inGuardians of the Galaxy. It isn’t known what makes her shift alliances over to the Guardians, or how this contentious sisterly relationship will evolve in the sequel. Mantis has a unique back story in theMarvel Comics, with ties to the Kree alien race, the Celestials and the Guardians themselves. In one comic story, she actually accelerated the growth of Groot after his body regenerated from a twig, which may come in handy since he became just a BabyGrootat the end of the first movie.

With production scheduled to begin next month in Atlanta onGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it isn’t known when the studio will make any further casting announcement. The studio has already set a June 03, 2025 release date for the sequel, which will kick off the summer movie season next year. What do you think about this unconfirmedGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2rumor? Chime in with your thoughts, and stay tuned for more on this follow-up as we get closer to production getting under way.