'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' Cast Revealed: Who Returns for James Gunn Sequel?

Filming of the sequel of Marvel Cinematic Universe's 2014 hit Guardians of the Galaxy is well underway, with the whole team of space misfits' return already confirmed, but it seems Vol. 2 won't bring back everyone from the original movie. James Gunn, who directed the 2014 film and its upcoming sequel, just revealed that Benicio Del Toro and John C. Reilly won't be back this time around.

Unlike many other people who work for Marvel Studios, Gunn is fairly active on social media and up for sharing whatever he can on Facebook, where he hosts occasional Q&A's. In a recent one, the filmmaker revealed that neither Del Toro (who played The Collector in the last film and at the end of Thor: The Dark World) nor Reilly (Corpsman Dey) would be reprising their roles this time around.

"Benicio Del Toro is not in Guardians Volume 2. But I am very excited to see him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future, I hope. Although we haven't forgotten the character, he just didn't fit into Volume 2," Gunn said, according to Metro, later adding the same about the Chicago actor. "John C. Reilly is not back for Volume 2, unfortunately."

It's unclear whether Reilly will come back to the MCU at all, but it seems likely that at least Del Toro will be part of the Avengers: Infinity War movies, seeing as the two Russo brothers films will seemingly mix Guardians with the rest of the MCU in a major space conflict.

Besides, the directing duo already said there were "67 characters" in the films, and while that's probably a pretty big exaggeration, it does seem likely that the major superhero event will be crowded with cast members from all the different Marvel films.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first MCU film to come out next year, set for a May 5, 2017 release date.