'Guardians Of The Galaxy 2' Plot Theories: Who Is The New Character Teased By Director James Gunn?

Although it’s a little less than two years away, fans are already excited for the return of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” While director James Gunn previously announced the return of the original core cast, he recently teased the introduction of a mysterious new character to the sequel.

In a recent Periscope question and answer session with fans, the "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" director revealed that he wants to scale down on the character count in the 2017 sequel. His said his hope is that he can better focus on really diving into the characters established in the first movie on an emotional level.

“There’s just too many characters so you can’t concentrate on one and really get to know that character, and I really want to get to know the characters that we know better, and yeah, we will be introducing a new character,” Gunn said (via ScreenRant).

While critics of the superhero-packed “Avengers: Age of Ultron” wil be likely very pleased to hear the yet untitled “Guardians 2” will be keeping its character count down, the new character teaser has fans buzzing as to who is showing up in the newest cosmic installment.

The first name to jump to many people’s mind is Nova, the Marvel superhero that is closely attached to the Nova Corps. that was established in the first movie. While the building blocks to introduce a Richard Rider character are there, Gunn has previously said that he’s not interested in bringing Nova into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) any time soon. Mainly because he thinks its important to keep Star Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) the only earthling in the story.

Another theory is that “Guardians of the Galaxy” will be the springboard for Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie, “Captain Marvel.” Although Gunn addressed the fact that no actress has been cast in the 2018 film, that doesn’t mean that her origins cannot be established in “Guardians 2.” It was previously reported that Marvel is planning to do a lot of character establishment through off-handed references in other movies. Then again, for those who know the origin story of Carol Danvers, she gets her super powers from a cosmic alien that comes to Earth. Perhaps that alien will cross paths with the Guardians.

The third, and probably most likely answer is that Gunn is simply referring to the new villain present in the sequel that Star Lord and his gang will have to take down. The first movie saw Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and established him as a fanatic fighting for the Kree people’s supremacy. With Gunn revealing an interest exploring characters more in depth and writing such a complex villain into the first film, it’s possible the “new character” is simply the new baddie.

What do you think? Which new character would you like to see go toe-to-toe with the Guardians of the Galaxy? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.