Shortly before filming wrapped on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, director James Gunn confirmed that he would bring his cast to Comic-Con. Most fans assumed that the first trailer would be shown during Marvel's Hall H presentation, and they were right. But no one expected the first footage to reveal one of the sequel's biggest secrets. It had long been rumored that Kurt Russell was playing Star-Lord's (Chris Pratt) father. That turned out to be true, with the footage showing Kurt Russell playing the character Ego the Living Planet. Now, James Gunn has provided the backstory for this unique alien being who has taken human form. He explains this.

"[Ego is] an ancient cosmic being who has been on the edges of the universe for aeons by himself."

As it turns out, Kurt Russell wasn't even being considered for the role initially. Shortly after the release of Guardians of the Galaxy in the summer of 2014, director James Gunn confirmed that fans will learn the identity of Star-Lord's father in the sequel, and that it wouldn't be the same character as in the comics, J'son. Empire caught up with Gunn, who explained that Kurt Russell wasn't even an actor the director was considering for Ego, before Chris Pratt suggested him.

"He was actually not in my head initially, but one day Chris suggested him, and I would have been really disappointed if he'd said no. Hey, if you have to cast anything, Kurt's a pretty good way to go."

While the first trailer has yet to debut online after premiering at Comic-Con, the footage ends with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord asking Kurt Russell's character who he is. He responds with, "I thought my good looks would make it obvious. My name is Ego. And I'm your dad." In the comics, Ego is literally a massive planet, but it was shown in this footage that he has constructed a human form for himself, which leads to Drax the Destroyer asking if Ego made himself a penis. Ego confirms this, stating, "It's not bad either." When asked how Ego will alter the Guardians' dynamic, Chris Pratt had this to say.

"You're going to see these characters having to endure the realities of being in a family. You're talking about a guy who's been longing to know who his father is for a long time. He'll discover if that person lives up to the expectations he has in his head."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will bring back Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), David Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon), Vin Diesel (Groot), Michael Rooker (Yondu, Karen Gillan (Nebula), Sean Gunn (Kraglin) and Glenn Close (Nova Prime). New additions to the cast include Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Chris Sullivan (Taserface), Tommy Flanagan (Tullk) and big screen icon Sylvester Stallone in an unconfirmed role. Stay tuned for more on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as we get closer and closer to the May 5, 2017 release date.