Like most Marvel movies in production, plot details about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are being kept under lock and key. However, things seem to be shaping up nicely behind the scenes as the movie is taking another step to distinguish itself from Marvel’s other offerings. And it's all thanks to a new piece of state-of-the-art camera technology.
It was announced today that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first movie to shoot on RED’s new Weapon 8K camera. For those not familiar, 8K refers to 8K resolution in digital cinematography, or 8,000 pixels. As No Film School notes, this results in a higher "resolved detail," and director of photography Henry Braham described the camera as "perfectly counterintuitive," and a great fit for the Marvel sequel. It remains to be seen whether all of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be entirely shot on the RED camera or only for certain sequences, like how Captain America: Civil War shot a key scene in IMAX.
Since the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are set away from Earth (minus the first movie’s opening of young Peter before he was abducted), it makes sense to try out a new, state of the art camera in a movie involving space faring and lots of aliens. Although movie theaters typically project at 4K, shooting the movie on 8K will result in a sharper image, and that’s going to be especially great as moviegoers visit these colorful worlds along with our protagonists. It was reported last year that the Avengers: Infinity War movies would be shot entirely in IMAX, so it looks like Marvel is making a conscious effort for all of their bigger Phase Three movies to look quite striking.
While the 8K camera announcement is certainly exciting for movie enthusiasts and experts, those waiting for more information on what Peter Quill and company will be up to for their next round of mischief will have to keep waiting. In addition to its intergalactic band of adventurers, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will also see Nebula, Yondu, Kraglin and The Collector returning. As far as new characters go, actress Pom Klementieff has officially been added on, and she is rumored to be playing new Guardians recruit Mantis.
Meanwhile, Kurt Russell is reportedly being courted to play Peter Quill’s mysterious father, but that casting is still in the negotiations stage. Gunn also recently stated that Thanos won’t be returning for the sequel, though when we do see the Mad Titan again, evidently he "will not be messing around." With most of the main cast returning, and composer Tyler Bates back to score the sequel, Gunn certainly looks like he's not taking this sequel lightly either.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be released on May 5, 2017.
