<P> In September 2015, Gunn said in a Facebook post that he wanted to use Sneepers, an alien race that first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1964, as background characters in the film but was advised against it by Marvel's legal department because the name was too similar to snípur, the Icelandic word for clitoris . The Marvel legal department later cleared the use of Sneepers in the film, in part because of all the media coverage Gunn's initial post received . At the end of the month, Feige stated casting announcements would be made "over the next few months before the end of the year", and by the end of October Pom Klementieff was cast as Mantis . Also, Matthew McConaughey was offered the role of the film's antagonist, but had passed on it in favor of The Dark Tower . McConaughey felt he would have been "an amendment" in Vol. 2 in "a colorful part (made) for another big - name actor ." In December, Gunn said that he was corresponding with John C. Reilly about him reprising his role as Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey, while Kurt Russell entered early talks to play Quill's father . After the death of David Bowie, Gunn said that there were discussions for Bowie to appear in the film as a member of Yondu's original crew . Gunn also stated that he had completed the final draft of the script . Benicio del Toro, who portrayed the Collector in the first film, expressed interest in portraying the character again, despite Marvel not contacting him about the sequel; Gunn explained that the Collector "just didn't fit" into Vol. 2 . In early February, comedian Steve Agee was revealed to be in the film . </P> <P> Prop master Russell Bobbitt had difficulty finding the cassette decks that had been used in the first film, and all of the Sony Walkman headsets they sourced for the sequel were broken . Sony also did not have any headsets available for filming, while three pairs Bobbitt found on eBay cost around $1,800 and were not the exact model . Bobbitt eventually created six from scratch for Vol. 2 . Other props he created for the film included two sets of blasters for Quill, with removable blaster cartridges, and "steampunk - looking weapons and belts" for the Ravagers; Bobbitt explained that four different weapons were designed for the latter group, and then 15 - 20 versions of those were produced to be used by the various Ravager actors (there could be up to 85 - 95 Ravagers per scene). For their belts, the props team cut the leather themselves rather than buying existing belts, and then parts from different electronic devices such as radios and cell phones were glued together to make each belt "a unique piece of art". The prop department also made edible props for certain scenes: a prop of a stinkbug - inspired insect was made from chocolate and injected with black honey so it could be eaten on screen and "when he bit down the honey poured out of his mouth"; similarly, a "yarrow root" was designed based on enlarged images of pollen, and then created with non-dairy white chocolate to be eaten onscreen . </P> <P> Pre-shooting began on February 11, 2016, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, under the working title Level Up, with Henry Braham serving as cinematographer and Scott Chambliss as production designer . Gunn noted that many of the crew from the first film, such as cinematographer Ben Davis and production designer Charles Wood, signed on to work on Doctor Strange, and due to a late change in production schedule to a November 2015 start, were unable to work on Vol. 2 . Vol. 2 was the first film to be shot with an 8K resolution camera, the Red Weapon 8K . Additional scenes were also shot in IMAX and its aspect ratio . </P> <P> Principal photography began on February 17, with Marvel confirming that Russell had joined the cast, and revealing that Elizabeth Debicki and Chris Sullivan had also been cast, all in undisclosed roles . The production used all 18 stages at Pinewood Atlanta, an increase in stage space from what was used for the first film . Gunn said the sequel required more sets than the first and "our sets are very large, even though a lot of the film is CGI . I like to have as many practical sets as we can and make the environments as real as possible so it balances out the CGI elements ." Despite this, Gunn noted that there were less locations featured in the sequel, with the focus instead on being more specific and detailed with the fewer places shown . Sets constructed for the film included: several for the Sovereign planet, for which Chambliss used a "1950s pulp fiction variation on 1930s art deco design aesthetic"; the Ravager's main ship in the film, the Eclector, which was constructed in sections to provide a complete 360 - degree view of the ship as well as the ability to move sections around and portray different areas of the ship; and the Iron Lotus establishment on the "pleasure planet" of Contraxia, which Chambliss wanted to feel like it had been put together from "a whole yard of repurposed junk where old spaceships are cast away and industrial materials that aren't of use anymore are just left to rot", creating a "kind of neon jungle in its own way and covered in ice and snow ." Interiors for other ships were also constructed, to limit the amount of blue screen the actors had to interact with . </P>

Cast of characters in guardians of the galaxy 2