"Guardians of the Galaxy" was one of Disney and Marvel's biggest hits, combining a fun story with classic music for an experience that a majority of viewers loved. The sequel has a lot of expectations to meet and exceed, but it doesn't appear that director James Gunn has anything to worry about, other than possibly re-treading the ground already set in the first film.
Returning to the team are Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) as former outlaws reluctantly forced to work together to eventually save the galaxy from being destroyed by the very thing most of them had been bent on stealing.
Admittedly, it can be said that "Guardians" did it before "Suicide Squad" attempted to do something similar.
Meet the new 'Guardians' once more
Former antagonists are apparently expected to join the team this time, mirroring the first film. Yondu (Michael Rooker) was a mercenary who was bent on using Star-Lord to gain access to the Orb and sell it to the highest bidder. This time, from what Rocket says (translating from the usual "I am Groot"), "Welcome to the frickin' Guardians of the Galaxy," Yondu will be joining them against a new threat.
Nebula (Karen Gillan) is another former adversary whose prior involvement nearly worked in halting the Guardians' ultimate mission. Alongside Gamora, she is one of the "daughters" of Thanos, who at this point seems to be the ultimate threat to the universe with his quest to complete the Infinity Gauntlet and rule the universe.
What causes this change of heart is unclear, but we can expect some degree of sibling rivalry before her place is cemented.
A third entry is someone we haven't seen before, except in the comics. Mantis is a mysterious female whose purpose has yet to be revealed.
We have also been introduced to Kurt Russell's character Ego, the living planet, who happens to be Star-Lord's father.
Again, not much is known about his involvement. We can probably expect more than a simple family reunion with him since he's been absent from Star-Lord's life since before he could even remember.
Trailer starts with a bang
Everyone is gathered around what appears to be a massive cloud, which suddenly expands without warning, and we can only assume that this wipes them all out.
If this is one of the film's opening sequences, it might turn out that Mantis was one of the survivors of the blast, and she gets the original Guardians involved.
However it unfolds, we can expect a loveable soundtrack via Star-Lord's "awesome mix Volume 2," as well as plenty of fun and amazing action.
