Audiences are just over a month away from the first MCU movie of the year, as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 kicks off summer blockbuster season in May. This sequel to the smash hit of 2014 promises to be one of the Marvel's biggest and most ambitious projects yet, including the "biggest visual effect of all time". The film will also introduce several new characters to the MCU, including Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Ego The Living Planet (Kurt Russell) and an as-yet unnamed character to be played by Sylvester Stallone.

While there's still plenty to be revealed about Ego and Stallone's character, it appears these will not be one-and-done appearances, but rather the start of  recurring roles for both actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Talking to Fandango (via CBRGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn revealed that both Russell's Ego and Stallone's unknown character will reappear in future MCU films.

"This is definitely not a one-off [for them]. They’re both characters that we’ve taken a lot of time to develop, and they’re a big part of the MCU now."

This fits in with Gunn's previous comments about Stallone's role in the film, when he emphasized that although it is not a large role, it is a vital one. "It’s a very, very key, important role. It’s not a huge role. He’s a great and key supporting actor." Without knowing exactly who Stallone will be portraying, it's difficult to speculate on how he will fit into the plot, but we do know that Russell's Ego the Living Planet is Star-Lord's (Chris Pratt) father, and that a large part of the story for Guardians 2 will involve Star-Lord's discovery of this.

It's easy to speculate that both Ego and Stallone's character will reappear in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, a massive crossover film that will involve a vast majority of the characters in the MCU, and which will presumably take place, at least partially, in space. However, all of this is still only speculation, as filming on Infinity War is already underway and neither actor has been spotted coming to set. That's not to say Marvel couldn't have found a way around this, but perhaps it means Russell and Stallone are being saved for a potential Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Besides, audiences likely won't know exactly how these characters fit in to the larger MCU (or who Stallone will be playing), until the film hits theaters.

Next: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 TV Trailer: Tickets Now on Sale

Source: Fandango (via CBR)

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