GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2

‘VOL. 1’ WAS Marvel Studios’ biggest gamble to date, zipping into space to hang with a gang of little-known characters. And, boy, was it a hit.

Vol. 2 has all that success to trade on. And writer-director James Gunn feels confident. “I don’t wake up at three in the morning wondering if I’m making Pluto Nash 2 anymore,” he laughs. “Now we have characters that a lot of the world loves, there’s a certain amount of anxiety I don’t have this time around.”

Gunn is reluctant to share specific plot details for his space-caper sequel, but does confirm that the relationship between Star-lord (Chris Pratt) and his long-lost father (Kurt Russell) is central, while much of the movie’s conflict and comedy comes from exploring how this group of rejects learn to cohere as a unit. “They’re outsiders within a family,” Gunn says. A family, that is, with a baby Groot. Forget science-fiction. This is domestic drama with a difference... DAN JOLIN