At Marvel Studios’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was confirmed that actor Kurt Russell will play Ego, the Living Planet, who is Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord’s dad, in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.’ 

Here’s what director James Gunn had to say about Ego (via his Facebook page):

EGO.

Known in the comics as Ego the Living Planet.

Yeah, his dad is a planet. Sort of. It will all be explained in the film..

But to me, this is the absolute center of Vol. 2, and one of the reasons I’ve been so excited about it. When Marvel first approached me with the first movie, I thought, “Wait a second? A talking raccoon? Isn’t that a rather ridiculous idea to base a movie around?”

It was then that I took a step back and asked myself: Okay, if a raccoon could talk, and shoot a machine gun, how could that be? And answering that question ended up being the entire foundation of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. There was a sadness in the answer. Rocket was an animal experimented upon, torn apart and put back together, without compassion. He was the only being of his type, had never known any hint of kindness, and was utterly and completely alone until he met his fellow Guardians. And, one of them in particular – Groot – thought it was worth sacrificing his life for his sake. This melancholy and beautiful undercurrent helped to ground the character for me. He had far more in common with Frankenstein’s monster than he did Bugs Bunny. And I related to him, greatly, and I hoped other folks who felt like outsiders would as well.

Ego seemed, in many ways, like an even more ridiculous character. But I asked myself, if a planet was alive, how could that be? And how could it father a child?

The answers to those questions took me to a far deeper place that I expected. I don’t want to give away too many answers at this time. But what Nova Prime said about Peter’s father at the end of Vol. 1 is certainly true – he is something ancient and unknown. And, as we will discover, being a cosmic being, alone for eons, is perhaps even more lonely than being the universe’s sole talking raccoon.

I can’t wait for you guys to see Kurt Russell bring this character to life onscreen. It has been a rapturous experience creating Ego with him. We have both pushed ourselves as far as we can go in making him real, and grounded, and emotionally centered.

Russell’s ‘Tango & Cash’ co-star Sylvester Stallone was also confirmed, no details on what role he’s playing. Here’s what Gunn had to say about Sly,”This was an amazing experience for me, considering I ran around in my backyard as a kid pretending I was Johnny Rambo. Working with Sly was one of the high points of shooting Vol. 2 for me. Who does he play? Well, I can’t reveal that quite yet… but we do see him interacting with Yondu in the teaser.”

Actress Elizabeth Debicki will be playing Ayesha (a.k.a. Her, a.k.a. Kismet, a.k.a. Paragon). “Ayesha is the golden High Priestess of a genetically-perfect people called the Sovereign. She’s not a woman to be screwed with – she, and her entire world, are extraordinarily deadly.”

Taserface is confirmed to appear in the film, and will be played by Chris Sullivan. Here’s what Gunn posted on his Facebook page: “The leader in all of these shenanigans is the incredibly-powerful yet incredibly ridiculously-named TASERFACE, played by Chris Sullivan (it’s worth noting that four years ago when I was hired for the first Guardians film, I joked that I was going to make Taserface my villain. I suppose it’s no longer a joke).” 

On Mantis, “Our look for Mantis is similar to her original look in the comics – she’s the same color as Pom Klementieff, the actress who plays her (i.e not green), and she has antennae. We saw just a tiny little glimpse of her in the Comic-Con footage. More will be coming. She’s been one of my favorite parts of making this film.”

Synopsis:

“Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is written and directed by James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Slither”). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (“Jurassic World,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (“Spectre,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Drax; Vin Diesel (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Furious 7”) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (“Joy,” “American Sniper”) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Jumper”) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Big Short”) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Gilmore Girls”) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (“Oldboy”), Elizabeth Debicki (“The Great Gatsby,” “Everest”), Chris Sullivan (“The Knick,” “The Drop”) and Kurt Russell (“The Hateful Eight,” “Furious 7”).

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is produced by Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Nik Korda and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.

Director James Gunn’s creative team also includes director of photography Henry Braham (“The Legend of Tarzan,” “The Golden Compass”); production designer Scott Chambliss (“Star Trek,” “Tomorrowland”); editors Fred Raskin (“The Hateful Eight,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Craig Wood (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”); three time Oscar®-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”); Oscar®-nominated visual effects supervisor Chris Townsend (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”); stunt coordinator Tommy Harper (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” ); co-producer / first assistant director Lars Winther (“Captain America: Civil War,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”); and six-time Oscar® nominee, special effects supervisor Dan Sudick (“Captain America: Civil War,” “The Avengers”).

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2’ is set to open in theaters on May 5, 2017.