Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Cast list confirms Kurt Russell joining Marvel film, The Collector and Thanos won't appear

Elizabeth Debicki, of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fame, and Chris Sulivan who appeared in The Knick also joing cast

Chris Pratt in 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

(AP Photo/Disney-Marvel)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has been filming for little over a week now, with various photos from the set emerging online (for instance, this one Chris Pratt posted of his cassette player featuring “Amazing Mix Vol. 2”).

Now, with Disney officially announcing production has started, the full cast list has been announced by James Gunn, and it comes with some pleasant surprises.

First up, Kurt Russell has been confirmed to be joining the cast in a currently unconfirmed role. The actor previously said he was unsure about appearing in the film, yet with the confirmation rumours will likely swell about the actor portraying Star Lord’s father.

Also confirmed to be join the cast are Elizabeth Debicki, of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. fame, and Chris Sulivan who appeared in The Knick.

Surprisingly, neither Benicio Del Toro nor Josh Brolin (The Collector and Thanos) will appear in the sequel, although both are expected to have major roles in the upcoming Infinity War. John C. Reilly also doesn’t appear.

Here’s James Gunn’s full statement: “Official photography on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has started, and I couldn’t be more stoked.

“My favorite movie as a small child was The Strongest Man in the World, so I’m glad to announce that, yes, Kurt Russell has joined our cast and, yes, he is more awesome a dude than I ever could have imagined.

“The last few days around here with him and our other new cast members, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, and Chris Sullivan, have been some of the best of my life. I never thought anyone was missing from our island of misfit toys, but now that these folks are here there feels like there was.

“Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, and Glenn Close are all returning.

“We’ll have more surprises for you in the coming months. But, for now, this will have to do.

“I have to get back to set!

“Have a great day, everybody.”