Here are some fun facts and behind the scenes information that we learned from the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 team at a recent press conference.
Mantis as a unique female character
When asked about the objectification of male characters compared to female characters, Chris Pratt said, “I can say objectification is good for me because when I turned my body into an object that people liked, I got paid a lot of money.” Although it has helped him, Pratt realizes that “for millennia women have been objectified in a way, there’s a pretty horrifying past around it.”
James Gunn added that not only are women objectified in film, “it’s about the fact that many women in films today are reduced to being only that. And when Chris Pratt looks beautiful on screen, or Chris Evans looks beautiful on screen, or Michael Rooker looks hideous on screen, you know people take that and they still go ‘well what’s that guy like, what’s his personality.’”
Gunn has overall tried to add dimensionality to the female characters in the Guardians film, but thinks Mantis (played by Pom Klementieff) is particularly interesting. Gunn said, “Mantis is somebody who is as funny and goofy and weird as Drax and Rocket, who are goofy male characters, and that’s a way to combat those stereotypes about what a male and a female actor can be.”
Easter eggs
Kevin Feige confirmed cameos that are “definitely the original Guardians.” This came about because “James [Gunn] had the idea to do more with the Yondu character, who was also an original Guardian. The notion [that] he had the team once like Peter [Quill] does now, that it would be fun to see them.”
Gunn said that these cameos in the post-credit scenes “are things that we hope to see continuing on in the MCU. Whether that’s a supporting role in future movies or whatever, I think it would be great to see those things and those characters show up.”
They confirmed that Sylvester Stallone is playing Stakar Ogord (or Starhawk), Ving Rhames is Charlie-27, and Michelle Yeoh is Aleta Ogord. They also confirm edthe presence of Krugarr and Mainframe, and it was recently revealed that Miley Cyrus voices Mainframe.
Rocket Racoon
Although Bradley Cooper is the voice of Rocket, Sean Gunn (Kraglin and brother of James Gunn – also known for the role of Kirk in Gilmore Girls) played Rocket on-set. Sean Gunn mentions that “in this movie, because Rocket and Kraglin have a few scenes that they’re in together, juggling the two things was a strange and challenging experience.” He described the experience of having to contort himself to Rocket’s size, and also having to read Rocket’s lines while his back was filmed as Kraglin.
However, despite these wildly different characters, Sean Gunn said “when you act there is both the input and the output. The input is the work you put into it, and the work you do on-set, and the output is what you see on screen. So, for me, the input is very similar for both of the characters, but the output is totally different because it takes a whole team of people to make Rocket, so I’m just a member of that team.”
Both Zoe Saldana and Kevin Feige professed their admiration for Sean Gunn’s performance, acknowledging the necessity of his performance as a reference for Rocket’s animation, and Cooper’s voice work.
Zoe Saldana and Sci-Fi
Zoe Saldana has been a prominent figure recently within the Science Fiction genre. Not only is she playing Gamora in Guardians, she played Uhura in Star Trek, and Neytiri in Avatar.
When asked what other Sci-Fi role she would like to play, Saldana immediately answered “Dune. I was Lady Jessica like every other Halloween.” She expressed knowledge of Denis Villeneuve’s plan to revisit Dune, and said, “I would love to be in Dune.”
Stan Lee’s cameos
In addressing rumors that Stan Lee was portraying Uatu, throughout the MCU films, Kevin Feige said, “I wouldn’t say you saw Uatu, I would say you saw some Watchers.” He continued, “Stan Lee clearly exists above and apart from the reality of all the films.”
This particular scene of Stan Lee’s cameo, almost did not make the final cut, but Feige said that he and Gunn “put it back in towards the end of the process, where he references that time he was a Federal Express Agent.” This refers to Stan Lee’s cameo in Captain America: Civil War, and Feige wanted the audience to realize through this that “this same character that’s popped up in all these films is the same person.”