We’ve got some cool new concept art for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and guess what? We get to meet Mantis! Entertainment Weekly premiered the picture, which was then shared by James Gunn on his Facebook page. You can see the whole image below but first, take a look at Drax’s shoulder. Have Drax and Baby Groot bonded since the adorable dancing scene in GOTG Volume 1? And what does Groot still being teeny mean for the film? Executive producer Jonathan Schwartz had some thoughts:
He doesn’t have the wisdom and experience of that Groot. He’s a younger Groot and a more rambunctious Groot. The question is, is he the same Groot, just smaller? Or is he a different Groot that’s sprung up from the seed of the first Groot?
This is deep territory. Click through for Mantis and more!
Mantis is played by Pom Klementieff, and has the potential to be the most socially awkward GOTG character yet! Schwartz describes her this way: “She has never really experienced social interaction. Everything she learns about dealing with people, she learns from the Guardians of the Galaxy, which is a very weird group to learn your social intricacies from.” In the comics, the character has a rollercoaster of a history that includes being a Celestial Madonna, a barmaid/prostitute in a Vietnamese bar, and an Avenger (plus she’s been mind-wiped at least once, and dated Vision) s it will be interesting to see what aspects of her story end up in the film.
We can’t wait for that… but I’m even more intrigued by this picture because – why is Nebula here? It could just be an easy way to include her in the first piece of concept art, but given that this seems to be a cohesive group shot, and she’s standing between Mantis and Gamora, could it be that Nebula has joined the Guardians in some capacity? Or at least that she and her estranged sister have made up? If so, that would mean the Guardians now have three female members, which could certainly change the first film’s dynamic. I loved GOTG, but it was a little annoying that the two women were the most humorless, rigid characters – who had also arguably suffered the worst trauma – so this might allow for some more nuanced characterization.
But in the meantime I’m just going to ponder the question of Baby Groot’s existence. What does it mean?
[via EW!]
