Guardians of the Galaxy 2is just over a month away from finally arriving in theaters and most of the gang from the first movie is coming back. Most of them. There are a few noticeable absences, which includeBenicio Del ToroasThe Collector. We’ll almost surely be seeing him again at some point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not this time around. Now directorJames Gunnhas explained why he isn’t back for the sequel.
James Gunn, as he regularly does, took toFacebookto answer a bunch of fan questions, many of which were related toGuardians of the Galaxy Vo. 2. At one point, someone asked why The Collector won’t be featured in the movie and the director had a very logical response. Here is what he had to say about it.
“I just talked to Benicio a couple weeks ago. He’s a great actor, a great guy. The Collector wasn’t right for the story ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2because, although it’s an incredibly enormous film, it’s a much smaller film in certain ways with few characters. So, he just didn’t fit in.”
So, simply put, The Collector didn’t fit into the narrative ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2and that is why he isn’t in the movie. While that may seem unexciting on its own, there is definitely something to look at here if you read between the lines.Benicio Del Torois a reasonably big actor and Marvel probably wouldn’t hate the idea of having him in the movie to help bolster the roster. Not that this movie is short on star power, but still. But apparently, the powers that be didn’t makeJames Gunnput characters in this movie if they didn’t fit. He clearly got to tell the story he wanted to tell and that is very good thing.
Even thoughBenicio Del Torowon’t be back as The Collector in theGuardians of the Galaxy sequel, he is almost surely going to be back in the MCU at some point. And he is featured in the newGuardians of the Galaxy Rideat Disney’s California Adventure theme park. We reported last month on an Instagram post thatJosh Brolinposted, but quickly deleted, stating thatBenicio Del Torowas on the set forAvengers: Infinity War. So, we can pretty safely assume that The Collector will be back in eitherAvengers: Infinity WarorAvengers 4. Or both. For those who really follow their somewhat obscure Marvel superteams, The Collector is part of the Elders of the Universe, which also includes Grandmaster, who is appearing inThor: Ragnarokand Ego the Living Planet, who is going to be Star-Lord’s dad inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as portrayed byKurt Russell. Knowing Marvel Studios, this is not a coincidence. Don’t be surprised if we see the Elders of the Universe assembled together at some point down the line. Just not inGuardians 2.
The cast includesChris Pratt,Zoe Saldana,Dave Bautista,Vin Diesel,Bradley Cooper,Sylvester Stallone,Pom Klementieff,Elizabeth Debicki,Karen Gillan,Michael Rooker,Sean GunnandKurt Russell.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2is written and directed byJames Gunnwith a release date set for May 4. You can check outJames Gunn’s full Facebook Live Q&A for yourself below.
