Some updates concerning Guardians of The Galaxy 2 are coming-in thanks to writer-director James Gunn, who took to a couple of Q&As recently. He first confirmed that Karen Gillan is indeed returning as the villainess Nebula, and AICN adds that Michael Rooker‘s Yondu is also a lock for the film. The two classic but obscure characters made quite the impact and will likely become franchise players.
Gunn mentions that they’ve found a way for Gillan to play Nebula without having to shave her head this time. I’m not sure if they’ve figured-out a bald-cap or will give Nebula her more traditional look which did include long hair.
James has turned in a 70-page treatment for the sequel and hopes to start moving forward with developing it into a shooting script in time for it’s production start next winter.
It’s confirmed Guardians 2 will begin next February at Pinewood Studios Atlanta, the same location that was used for Ant-Man and will become home for the upcoming Captain America: Civil War shoot. This allows other Marvel productions to be made over at the London studio or for them to get the kind of pre-production prep time these massive projects need. Another reason for the change of locations might be due to Disney giving the London stages to Lucasfilm for Star Wars productions, which could mean we could be seeing a lot more Marvel films shot in the U.S.
Guardians of The Galaxy 2 is set for release in May 2017.