Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has always been up front with fans through his various social media accounts, sharing his insights throughout various stages of the production process. We learned back in June that the writer-director had finished work on the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and now with production about to start on the sequel, the filmmaker issued another brief update: the final version of the script has now been completed. The director shared the title page of his fifth draft, dubbed "Green Draft" on his cover page, which is dated January 10, 2016. Here's what he had to say in a brief statement about the writing process on his Instagram page.

"So this is what happens when you take your brain between your hands and wring out its every last juice. Being sent out now."

The director also added on his Twitter page that he's "almost totally done" with the casting process, so hopefully we'll start to get some cast announcements very soon. As of now, the only new cast member who has been confirmed is Pom Klementieff, rumored to be playing Mantis. The Guardians of the Galaxy themselves, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) are all set to reprise their roles from the original blockbuster.

There has also been a rumor that Kurt Russell is in talks to play Star-Lord's father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but his casting has not been confirmed. James Gunn has said in the past that the sequel will reveal who Star-Lord's father is, and while he wouldn't confirm that character's identity, he did say that it wouldn't be the same character from the comics, J'son. Kurt Russell did confirm that he was approached to star in the sequel, but he has to watch the original movie first and read the script for the sequel before he decides.

We also reported earlier this week that Guardians of the Galaxy star Benicio Del Toro will not reprise his role as The Collector in this highly-anticipated sequel. However, the actor did say he hopes to return to play this character again at some point, but it won't be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The actor is attached to star in one of Disney's other highly-anticipated sequels, Star Wars: Episode VIII, where he is rumored to play the villain. The actor has said in the past that he won't start shooting until March, which would overlap with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set for release on May 5, 2017, which will kick off the summer movie season next year. This highly-anticipated sequel currently doesn't have any competition lined up in that particular release date yet, but that will surely change over the next year and a half. It's worth noting that this superhero adventure will likely dominate the box office for a few weeks, before facing Star Wars: Episode VIII on May 26, 2017. While we wait for more details on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, take a look at the cover page for James Gunn's final script draft.