New Guardians 2 Concept Art Shows An Epic Alien Battle, The Team Assembled

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever expanding place that features a shit ton of characters and films. And with 13 films currently released over eight years, it can be hard for one specific franchise to truly stand out among all of the other superhero stories that are flying around the shared universe. Of course, that wasn't the problem with Guardians of the Galaxy, which truly broke to mold regarding what to expect from a new MCU installment. And with a sequel on its way to the silver screen, fans are eagerly awaiting seeing the team together and whatever misadventures they'll get into while interacting with all sorts of strange alien creatures. Luckily for us, James Gunn seems to understand our anticipation.

James Gunn just posted a new bit of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's concept art, which will be in the new issue of Empire Magazine. And guess what? It's awesome. Check it out.

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Um, yes please! This image is pretty damn cool, let's break down exactly what we're seeing here.

For one, the Guardians themselves are rocking some fancy new clothes and gear. Rather than the all-maroon costumes we saw in the first film, it appears that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will allow the motley crew to get a bit less monochromatic. Don't worry though, they're still rocking some maroon and all perfectly match. Except for the always naked Groot that is.

It also appears that the group has picked up some cool matching gear to take on their travels. Specifically, the above concept art shows that they're all rocking fancy new jetpacks for their adventures. The concept image shows the group battling some scary looking alien in space, and they all appear to be flying through the air during their united strike. Except for Baby Groot that is- maybe they don't want the little guy to accidentally set himself on fire. While I joke, I think we can assume that the Guardians will be having more sophisticated armor and weapons in their second big screen adventure- and it's probably going to be cool AF.

Then there's this weird alien creature they're battling. I have to wonder if that scary looking guy is even going to appear in Guardians 2, as it's possible that the concept artist made something it up in order to properly feature the Guardians themselves. This guy presumably won't be the big villain of the series, so maybe he'll be in the opening sequence- showing us how familial and effective the group has become since we last saw them in Guardians of the Galaxy. They were already kick ass on their own, but adding some strategy and gear to the mix might make all the difference.

Of course, we'll just have to wait and see when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 flies into theaters on May 5th, 2017. We'll continue to update you on all things Marvel as details become public.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.