50 Fun Facts About Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Who wrote and directed the film?

Gunn returned from the first film and went on to write and direct Vol. 3 and the Holiday Special as well.

Vol. 2 is which numbered film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

It sits between Doctor Strange and Spider-Man: Homecoming in the Phase Three release order.

Who plays Ego, the Celestial revealed to be Quill's father?

Russell was confirmed in the role in July 2016 after Pratt suggested him for it.

In which city did the film hold its world premiere?

The Hollywood premiere followed nine days later at the Dolby Theatre.

On what date was the film released in the United States?

That was also the date Vol. 3 opened six years later, to the day.

The film earned a nomination at the 90th Academy Awards in which category?

Gunn called Ego's planet, with over a trillion polygons, the biggest visual effect of all time.

High Priestess Ayesha leads which genetically engineered golden race?

The Sovereign drones are piloted remotely, in arcade-style pods, so none of the gold-skinned people are risked in battle.

What do the Guardians protect from the Abilisk in the opening job?

Rocket steals some for himself, which is what brings the Sovereign fleet down on the team.

On which planet do the Guardians crash-land after the drone attack?

It is where Ego first introduces himself and Mantis, his empath servant.

Which lieutenant leads the mutiny against Yondu?

Gunn had once called the comic character the dumbest of all time and swore never to use him.

Which Ravager leader had exiled Yondu's crew for child trafficking?

Stakar finally accepts Yondu back into the fold by sending ships to his funeral.

Ego belongs to which ancient race of god-like beings?

He manipulated matter around his own consciousness to build the planet he lives on.

What does Ego admit he gave Meredith Quill?

The confession is what snaps Quill out of Ego's brainwashing.

Who dies saving Quill by letting himself perish in the vacuum of space?

Gunn described the story as being about a father's love for his son and called Yondu Quill's true father.

Who takes up Yondu's telekinetic arrow and control-fin in the credits scenes?

Sean Gunn, the director's brother, plays the character, who has an expanded role from the first film.

What happens to Groot in the final post-credits scene?

Sean Gunn provided the on-set reference for the sulky adolescent Groot.

Who plays Mantis?

Klementieff was cast by the end of October 2015, the first new-character casting announced.

Which actress plays Ayesha?

Casting director Sarah Finn suggested her and Gunn said he knew right away she was the one.

How long did Dave Bautista's Drax makeup take to apply for the sequel?

That was down from four hours on the first film, though he still had to sit in a sauna to get it off.

Vin Diesel recorded Groot's lines for how many foreign-language releases?

That was up from six languages on the first film.

Who served as Rocket's on-set stand-in during filming?

Cooper's voice performance was also referenced, but the physical acting came from the director's brother.

Gunn asked the actor playing Stakar to channel a line from which film?

The line was "That'll do, pig", for the moment Stakar accepts Yondu back as a Ravager.

Which studio returned Ego's film rights to Marvel in a character-swap deal?

In exchange, Marvel let Fox change Negasonic Teenage Warhead's powers for Deadpool.

In the comics, who is Peter Quill's father, replaced by Ego in the film?

Gunn said early on that the father would not be J'son, the Spartax emperor of the comics.

The 1980 opening sequence with young Ego is set in which US state?

Additional filming took place in St. Charles, Missouri, for the Earth scenes.

In his cameo, Stan Lee tells the Watchers about his time as what?

It winks at his Captain America: Civil War cameo, which Gunn later admitted was a continuity error since Vol. 2 is set earlier.

Ego shape-shifts into the likeness of which celebrity?

Weta had to build a partial digital double of Hasselhoff for just two shots.

Footage of which actor dancing on the Thor: Ragnarok set appears in the end credits?

He is the Grandmaster, whose comic counterpart is the brother of the Collector from the first Guardians film.

Miley Cyrus voices which CG member of Stakar's old team?

Gunn cast her after admiring the tone of her voice while watching her coach on The Voice.

Who plays Aleta Ogord?

Gunn cast her out of his love of 1990s Hong Kong cinema.

Under what working title was the film shot?

Pre-shooting under that name began on February 11, 2016.

Where did principal photography take place?

The production used all 18 stages there, more space than the first film needed.

Vol. 2 was the first film shot with which 8K camera?

Only a single prototype existed when the decision was made in September 2015.

Who composed the film's score?

As on the first film, he wrote some music first so Gunn could shoot to it.

Marvel's lawyers first balked at which alien race's name for resembling an Icelandic word?

The name was too close to snípur, and the publicity from Gunn's post helped get it cleared.

Which actor turned down the villain role to make The Dark Tower instead?

He felt he would have been an amendment in a colorful part made for another big-name actor.

What score did the film reportedly get in test screenings?

It was the highest for any Marvel Studios film, though Marvel's friends-and-families testing is hard to compare with others.

How many views did the teaser trailer draw in its first 24 hours?

Only the Beauty and the Beast teaser had done better at the time.

Which song hit number one on the iTunes Rock Chart after the teaser aired?

The glam-rock single by Sweet opens Awesome Mix Vol. 2 and plays over the teaser's Sovereign battle.

How much did the film earn in its opening weekend in the US and Canada?

Thursday previews alone contributed $17 million, the best of 2017 to that point.

Which was the film's biggest market outside the US and Canada?

It opened there in 400 IMAX theaters, the largest IMAX launch the country had seen.

Which snack brand sold bags with a built-in cassette-style player of Awesome Mix Vol. 2?

The rechargeable bags were sold on Amazon as part of the Rock Out Loud campaign.

Glenn Close filmed scenes reprising which character, all cut from the final film?

Gunn felt he was cramming her in rather than letting it happen organically.

Nathan Fillion's deleted cameo would have shown him as which character?

Gunn still considers the movie-poster cameo canon, and chose a small role so Fillion could take a bigger one later.

Gunn cut a scene of Quill and Gamora doing what, then pushed for it in Infinity War?

He felt the moment happened at a weird time in Vol. 2, so the couple's kiss waited for the Russos' film.

Ben Browder, who cameos as an alien admiral, starred in which sci-fi series?

Gunn is an avid fan of the show, which ran from 1999 to 2003.

What is the name of Yondu's Ravager ship?

The set was built in sections so it could be rearranged to show different areas of the ship.

Rocket's new eye rig was adapted from a rig built for which Fantastic Beasts character?

Framestore rebuilt Rocket from the ground up, with new fur simulation and facial shapes too.

At which 2014 event was the sequel officially announced?

It was announced before the first film had even reached theaters, with Gunn confirmed to return.

Which character did Gunn drop from the script because the film was getting too busy?

His arrival is still teased in a mid-credits scene, and he finally appeared in Vol. 3 played by Will Poulter.