'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' Cast, Director to Appear at Comic-Con

By Dave McNary, Variety

Disney-Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is heading to Comic-Con next month.

Director James Gunn revealed the news Thursday in a special video message for fans, coinciding with Chris Pratt wrapping his filming for the sequel. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens May 5, 2017.

Gunn posted a four-minute video on his Facebook page, largely dedicated to him and Pratt thanking the cast and crew for their work.

“Everyone here has busted their asses,” Pratt asserted. “This is going to be the greatest spectacle film of all time.”

Pratt also praised Gunn for delivering the film on time — the shoot took 90 days — and under budget. Gunn dropped the Comic-Con announcement at the very end of the video.

“We, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, are coming to San Diego Comic-Con this year,” he said. “We’re going to be there, I’m going to be there, Chris Pratt is going to be there, a bunch of the gang is going this year and we’re going to show you something pretty cool.”

Marvel evoked a strong positive reaction three years ago from a sizzle reel for the original Guardians of the Galaxy, which still stunned the industry by grossing more than $770 million worldwide. The sequel also stars Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan and Djimon Hounsou.

It’s one of the first announcements of a major tentpole film and stars that will be appearing at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, which will run July 21-24.