Ever since Kurt Russell’s name was thrown around as a possible addition to Marvel Studios’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 cast, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he’d play the role of Peter Quill’s father. He’s a character we have yet to see in the franchise, and with this sequel, James Gunn confirmed that a part of Quill’s emotional journey will have to do with his parentage, which had remained a mystery up to this point.

Separate from the whole Peter Quill father situation, back in January, WE REPORTED ON A RUMOR that Ego the Living Planet — perhaps the strangest character in the Marvel canon — would likely show up in the film.

Little did we know that these two things would meet. 

During last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, all suspicions of Kurt Russell playing Star-Lord’s father were confirmed…but with twist.

In a Facebook post from the film’s writer and director, James Gunn, he summed up the reveal from the SDCC panel and delved into why he went with such a strange decision:

“WE DISCLOSED THE IDENTITY OF PETER QUILL’S FATHER

This is the biggie, I guess. And, yes, as many people guessed, or assumed, Kurt Russell is playing Peter Quill’s father. And Peter Quill’s father is (as almost no one has guessed)…

EGO.

Known in the comics as Ego the Living Planet.

Yeah, his dad is a planet. Sort of. It will all be explained in the film..

But to me, this is the absolute center of VOL. 2, and one of the reasons I’ve been so excited about it. When Marvel first approached me with the first movie, I thought, ‘Wait a second? A talking raccoon? Isn’t that a rather ridiculous idea to base a movie around?’

It was then that I took a step back and asked myself: Okay, if a raccoon could talk, and shoot a machine gun, how could that be? And answering that question ended up being the entire foundation of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1. There was a sadness in the answer. Rocket was an animal experimented upon, torn apart and put back together, without compassion. He was the only being of his type, had never known any hint of kindness, and was utterly and completely alone until he met his fellow Guardians. And, one of them in particular – Groot – thought it was worth sacrificing his life for his sake. This melancholy and beautiful undercurrent helped to ground the character for me. He had far more in common with Frankenstein’s monster than he did Bugs Bunny. And I related to him, greatly, and I hoped other folks who felt like outsiders would as well.

Ego seemed, in many ways, like an even more ridiculous character. But I asked myself, if a planet was alive, how could that be? And how could it father a child?

The answers to those questions took me to a far deeper place that I expected. I don’t want to give away too many answers at this time. But what Nova Prime said about Peter’s father at the end of VOL. 1 is certainly true – he is something ancient and unknown. And, as we will discover, being a cosmic being, alone for eons, is perhaps even more lonely than being the universe’s sole talking raccoon.”

This does bring into question how a planet can wear THE COSTUME WE POSTED EARLIER TODAY, but I believe we can wait and see what the future holds. James Gunn has certainly earned a lot of good faith from viewers in the past, so there’s a good chance Ego could be just as weird and interesting as Rocket was in the first film?

What do you think of this reveal? Let us know in the comments down below!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 hits theaters on May 5, 2017.

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SOURCE: James Gunn