'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2': See Yondu square off with Rocket; ‘Biggest visual effect of all time’

New stills from the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” have been released. One of the pictures shows Yondu squaring off with Rocket Raccoon. There is also a picture of Kurt Russell as Ego The Living Planet. James Gunn also shared some insights about the film, including the casting. The following article contains minor spoilers.

A new set of stills from the upcoming movie have been posted on Empire Magazine website. The latest edition of the magazine has eight pages of coverage focused on the upcoming film. The details include a report from Atlanta, from when the movie was being filmed in the city, and pictures that have not been released yet.

Three of the pictures from the magazine have been posted online. The first one shows Yondu (Michael Rooker) facing Rocket (Voice by Bradley Cooper) on a ship. The report teases a fight between the two characters.

The second picture is that of the superhero team. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Rocket will be joined by Nebula (Karen Gillan) in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” The report doesn’t make it clear if Nebula has crossed over and become one of the good guys in the film.

The last picture is that of Kurt Russell as Ego The Living Planet. This highly anticipated character is the father of Peter Quill, AKA Star Lord.

The report reveals an interesting conversation that led to Russell being cast in this role. It was apparently Pratt who first made an offhand suggestion to Director James Gunn to bring in the new cast member. Gunn, who has also written the screenplay for the film, said that he had Russell in mind while finishing the screenplay. He added that it would have been disappointing if the veteran actor refused the role, and fortunately he accepted.

Kurt hadn’t seen the box office hit 2014 movie. But, after watching just 15 minutes of it; he understood why he was being asked to play this role. “The baggage I bring from some of the movies I’ve done is the right kind of baggage to bring into this one,” the actor said.

Ego was apparently the biggest technical challenge for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” The visual effects in the film have reportedly been pushed past the existing limits. Gunn proudly revealed that there are over a trillion polygons on Ego’s planet. The director teased that this is the “biggest visual effect of all time.”