This past weekend, Marvel held their epic Hall H panel at Comic-Con, where plenty of new footage from their upcoming slate was revealed. Perhaps one of the most shocking moments came when Director James Gunn decided to finally reveal the identity of Star-Lord's dad in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. No one expected it was coming, and many fans complained that this is not something that should have been revealed so soon.

Well, Gunn disagrees. The interesting thing is that only those in Hall H got to see the teaser footage where Kurt Russell introduces himself as Ego, the Living Planet, who has fashioned a human body, penis and all, to Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, revealing that he is in fact Star-Lord's dad. Which means most fans heard about it second hand, as the footage still hasn't been released to the public. According to the filmmaker, this introduction, done in this way, was the only way to move forward in marketing the film. He had this to say on Facebook, explaining why this isn't a spoiler.

"WHY THE IDENTITY OF STAR-LORD'S FATHER ISN'T A SPOILER. Don't read any further if you don't want to know who he is. Also you might want to stay off the internet until May and definitely unfollow me and don't watch our trailers or other ads...Anyway, people have been particularly excited, confused, and supportive of keeping Marvel Cosmic truly cosmic with the reveal of Peter Quill's father's identity. However, there have been a minority of folks who have questioned, and even been angry, that I and Marvel would reveal something so major months before the film comes out. I get it. If we lived in a perfect world, I wouldn't tell you ANYTHING before you walked in to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I wouldn't tell you Groot was now Baby Groot, I wouldn't tell you Mantis was in the movie, I wouldn't say that Ayesha and Taserface are our antagonists, that Yondu and Nebula have incredibly important roles in the film, nor would I tell you that Quill's father is Ego the Living Planet. However, the world is imperfect. Firstly, we have to advertise our film. And it will be impossible to show you very much of Vol. 2 since Ego is very much a part of all of it. We just don't have a way around it. Secondly, there are journalists online who love giving you scoops about characters and plot twists in upcoming films. Ego is such a big part of the movie, this was going to come out soon, as much as we've tried to hide it (when our online press day happened on set, Kurt Russell sat in a chair that read "J'son," and all of our script pages and artwork featuring him used the same name). Frankly, I would rather be in control of the announcement myself than have it come out on SpoilersRUs.com in a few weeks."

So, James Gunn basically blames the online press that he invited to his set for bringing the big reveal so early. Which is pretty fair. This is one spoiler that would have been revealed soon enough, and no one would have seen any footage. So we have to take the filmmaker at his word that this was the best way to go. He continues, saying this.

"That said, knowing who Quill's father is will not diminish your enjoyment of the film in any way. The story is not built to be a shocking twist in the same way Luke's father was Darth, Soylent Green was people, Rosebud was a sled, or that that pretty woman from Crying Game had a penis (I guess I should have said spoilers before all that). Ego the emotional center of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 from the beginning to the end, and is not a twist. And believe me - there are many, many more surprises we still have in store for you from Vol. 2 - hopefully the biggest of which is how much you'll love the movie itself. Because, to me, that's the only twist that matters. - James"

Honestly, it sounds like James Gunn may be giving online scoop hounds too much credit in the long run. Don't invite them to the set if you feel this way. Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 reunites Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, and Sean Gunn as Kraglin. New cast members include Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell as Peter Quill's father, Ego the Living Planet. This next chapter in Marvel Phase 3 hits theaters next summer. Here's fan art that show's what Kurt Russell might look like as Ego the Living Planet.