- Ascended Fanon: The cameo Stan Lee has in the film, hanging out with a group of Watchers, serves as nod to the fandom theory that his repeated appearances throughout the MCU can be explained as repeated sightings of a single character: one who is in fact secretly a Watcher. James Gunn even admitted that he got the idea from fan message boards!
- Auteur License: After the runaway success of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn was allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted with this film.
- Author's Saving Throw: Several fans, and James Gunn himself, felt that Nebula was underused in the previous film, which slightly upset fans who saw her as one of the most interesting and surprisingly sympathetic characters, as well as being played by a fairly popular actress. As a result, not only does she have more screen time in Vol. 2, she also (temporarily) allies with the team. By Avengers: Infinity War, she's part of the team for real.
- Cast the Runner-Up: Michael Rosenbaum was among those considered for Star-Lord the first time round.
- The Cast Show Off: In an Entertainment Tonight interview, Vin Diesel hilariously demonstrates that he can pull off the cute, squeaky and childish Helium Speech of Baby Groot by himself without digital modification, in spite of his deep, coarse and gruffy natural voice.
- Celebrity Voice Actor: In the Japanese dub, beside the ones from the previous film, Mantis is voiced by Sayaka Akimoto, from AKB48.
- Colbert Bump: While the soundtrack already boosts many oft-forgotten songs, the biggest benefactor was Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah's "Lake Shore Drive", which was only a hit in the Midwest where James Gunn grew. Author Skip Haynes (who would die a few months after the movie's premiere) directly contacted Gunn to tell how he appreciated giving the whole world a chance to discover his song.
- Completely Different Title: The film is known as Guardians of the Galaxy: Remix in Japan.
- Corpsing: During the iconic "Groot Bomb scene", where Baby-Groot chooses the "Death button" for the second and third time, you can clearly hear Bradley Cooper trying to hold back the laughter so he can properly convey how angry and frustrated Rocket was supposed to be at the silly little tree.
- Deleted Role:
- Nathan Fillion portrayed actor Simon Williams on some movie posters that were meant to appear in one scene, but the scene in question was cut.
- Sharon Stone had a scene where she'd cameo as Nikki Gold, but said scene was cut.
- Deleted Scene: See here.
- Disowned Adaptation: Steve Englehart was NOT happy with the portrayal of Mantis, as he didn't see her as the character he created. (The film based Mantis as she was during the 2008 Abnett and Lanning run, where she was something of a spacey, oddball precog and emotion manipulator, not her original incarnation as the willful and seductive Celestial Madonna). He admitted to liking the film version as her own character, but not how she shares the name of his character when she's been made so wildly different.
- DVD Commentary:
- Gunn notes that the look of this film got more praise among fans than the first film, due to focusing on a more limited color pallet per scene, and making them more vibrant.
- He noted that with the first film he didn't get that many complaints of They Changed It, Now It Sucks!, except for Yondu's head fin, so he had it replaced in this one to fit the comics better.
- Dyeing for Your Art:
- Chris Pratt noted that buffing up for his shirtless scene wasn't very difficult for this film, as he'd already done most of the hard work for Vol. 1 and had maintained that physique ever since. He did, however, despise having to go on a strict diet during production.
- The make-up team was able make some improvements to help with actors' comfort with their make-up and prosthetics.
- Karen Gillan's make-up was altered so that she would only have to cut her hair short rather than shave it all off.
- Dave Bautista's prep time was cut down from four hours to ninety minutes, and he would have to sit in a sauna to sweat the make-up off at the end of each day.
- Michael Rooker's make-up incorporated a new base, meaning that the blue didn't soak into his skin as much and was easier to remove.
- Unfortunately for Zoe Saldaña, she still had to spend over three hours every morning to be turned green, using the same alcohol-based make-up that caused severe discomfort while shooting the first film.
- Executive Meddling: According to James Gunn, Microsoft didn't want to put the Zune in this film, because not only was it a large flop for them but it was also used as a joke.
- Fake Brit: The Australian Elizabeth Debicki portrays Ayesha with an upper-class English accent.
- Fandom Nod: Stan Lee chatting with a bunch of Watchers obviously references the fan-theory that he's Uatu from the comics. After the release, Kevin Feige unofficially endorsed the theory, but did not outright state if he is Uatu. It would later be clarified that Lee is actually a "Watcher Informant", with the real Uatu appearing in What If...?, portrayed by Jeffrey Wright.
- Incidental Multilingual Wordplay: The "Garden of the Galaxy" gag below works just as well in the French translation, with "gardien" ("guardian") mixed up with "jardin" ("garden"), close enough that no word change was needed.
- Irony as She Is Cast:
- The ironic thing about Gamora not enjoying dancing, is Zoe Saldaña actually has a deep background in dancing, with Ballet being her first passion.
- Similarly, Dave Bautista's Drax hates dancing and explains his attraction to his wife was due to her not dancing, no matter how catchy the tune playing was. Bautista himself is a former breakdancer and has married two dancers.
- Kurt Russell plays Ego, Peter Quill’s Disappeared Dad who abandoned him and his mother, whereas Kurt Russell has been in a relationship with Goldie Hawn since 1983, around the time her biological children, actors Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson, with her ex-husband were still very young. Though little else is known to the public about the years growing up, both Oliver and Kate have publicly stated that they see Russell as their father.
- Lying Creator:
- To try and hide The Reveal that Peter's dad was Ego, all of the preliminary press material shown to media outlets claimed that Kurt Russell was playing J'son, Peter's father in the comics.
- Sylvester Stallone's character was originally announced to be a member of the Nova Corps. Except that in the film proper, he's actually the MCU version of Starhawk from the original Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Ayesha and the Sovereign were said to be the film's Big Bad, with them seeking Ego in an effort to get their hands on his Celestial genetic code. Such a plot point never comes up in the movie, and Ego is the Big Bad, while the Sovereign are secondary villains.
- Milestone Celebration: The film is released in the centenary year of Jack Kirby, co-creator of most of the Marvel Comics. Of course the Guardians were not his creations, coming after his time, but Groot originated in a Kirby horror comic and the film's major new character, Ego the Living Planet, is one of his most memorable and original creations.
- Multiple Languages, Same Voice Actor: Pom Klementieff does both the European and Québécois French dubs of Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and has reprised her role in the later movies.
- Playing Against Type: Kurt Russell plays a psychotic alien despite being known for being a major '80s action star and generally associated with playing heroes and anti-heroes. Indeed, The Reveal of Ego's true plan was shocking because fans, on hearing of Russell's casting, actually expected Ego to have Adaptational Heroism. Even more when you consider this film represents Russell returning to Disney after he started his career as a child star for the studio. It's also worth noting in real life he's been deemed "dad" by Kate and Oliver Hudson as they have no relationship with their biological father, so this contrasts with Ego and makes him more like Yondu.
- Real-Life Relative: Along with the return of Sean Gunn, brother of the director, whose role as Kraglin is greatly expanded, their parents, Jim Gunn Sr. and Leotta Gunn, also have a brief appearance.
- Refitted for Sequel:
- "Fox on the Run" by The Sweet had been considered as a song for Awesome Mix Vol 1 in the first film, before being discarded. However, director James Gunn liked it so much that he put it into the promotional material and soundtrack for Vol 2.
- In the first scene, Drax states he doesn't like using the jet pack because the chest strap hurts his sensitive nipples. This was a joke intended for the suit-up scene in the first movie to explain why he doesn't wear his team uniform jacket in the climax.
- The joke about Groot being distracted by insects was likewise cut from the first movie. In a deleted scene, Rocket and Groot are planning their attempt to capture Quill, but Groot is too busy watching a bug flying around to pay any attention. Pretty much the exact same scenario happens during the opening credits of this film, only this time because he's Baby Groot and a lot more impulsive and less mature, he actually catches and eats the bug, earning a reprimand from Rocket.
- Revival by Commercialization: Unlike most of the songs from both this and its predecessor, "Lake Shore Drive" was only a hit in the Midwest where James Gunn grew. Its writer appreciated it, saying Gunn "rescued [it] from historical oblivion".
- Separated-at-Birth Casting: He's not just a perfect Casting Gag as an action star from The '80s, Kurt Russell averts the usual Hollywood Genetics. He genuinely makes it look like Ego could be Peter's father.
- Throw It In!: The shot of David Hasselhoff dramatically narrating the final lines of "Guardians Inferno" during the end credits was a last-minute decision by James Gunn, who shot the footage with his phone and rushed to the studio worried that the final cut had already gone out for distribution. Luckily, there was still time to make the addition.
- Trolling Creator: Michael Rooker was intentionally brought to hang out on the set of Avengers: Infinity War to cause rumors that he'd be in the movie just like all other Guardians and hide his ultimate fate in Vol. 2.
- Uncredited Role: Miley Cyrus is uncredited for her vocal cameo as Mainframe in one of the post-credits scenes.
- What Could Have Been:
- Matthew McConaughey was initially offered the part of Ego the Living Planet before Kurt Russell was cast. When asked about why he turned it down, McConaughey responded with this.McConaughey: I like Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was "It's successful, and now we've got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor." I'd feel like an amendment.
- Glenn Close was initially attached to reprise her role as Nova Prime, but James Gunn decided against it as he was trying to cram her into the movie rather than have her appear organically.
- David Bowie was originally going to play a member of Yondu's crew, but his illness and eventual death prevented that from happening. A TV spot
for the film did have a Bowie song playing — specifically "Suffragette City". James Gunn wanted to include the song in the film's soundtrack, but for unknown reasons, that didn't happen either. - Along with Mantis, Gunn initially planned to have Adam Warlock join the team; he cut Warlock because of the already large number of subplots and character arcs, and this didn't make it past the treatment phase. It would later be confirmed that Warlock would get Refitted for Sequel with the third film in the series, The Stinger for Vol. 2 likely the setup for his later appearance where Ayesha and the Sovereign, having played a role in creating him in the comics, are planning on using him as a weapon against the team.
- Originally, Groot was going to be fully grown again, but James Gunn opted to keep him as a baby for the sequel. This partially impacted the choice to have a two-month Time Skip from the last film, as the movie was meant to be set in real time as previous MCU movies had been. Gunn explained these changes came because he couldn't make the story work as he'd originally intended; Baby Groot ultimately became the connecting tissue of the film's core theme, Family of Choice, and helped him develop the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits' growth as not just colleagues but as a family unit. He still grows, however, as a credits scene shows him matured into a teenager and appears this way in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
- Gunn was very hesitant to kill off Yondu and wasn't going to do it at one point, but ultimately decided that it needed to happen to give some real stakes to the movie.
- Chris Pratt wanted to add a joke where Peter points out that Ego's human avatar looks just like Kurt Russell, but James Gunn refused. This may have inspired a scene where Ego, his true colors revealed, briefly shifts into the form of David Hasselhoff, Peter having claimed as a child that David Hasselhoff was his dad.
- The early designs for Mantis had green skin and a more insect-like appearance, but James Gunn decided to have her look more human, as she did in the original Avengers comics she first appeared in.
- The Stan Lee cameo was originally a bit different — he was originally going to talk about the time he was a DJ at a strip club, which would have taken his meta cameo even further by suggesting that he plays the same character across all Marvel adaptations, becoming Hilarious in Hindsight when Disney bought Fox, and therefore the rights to the Fox-owned Marvel properties such as Deadpool.
- Had 20th Century Fox not allowed Marvel Studios to use Ego, it's quite possible the film would have been very different, given Marvel didn't realize they didn't have the film rights to the character until production was about to start (Fox agreed to exchange him for Negasonic Teenage Warhead, who would appear in Deadpool 2). One only wonders what the film would have been like then. note .
- Some concept art◊ showed Rocket sporting a totally badass two-piece outfit as opposed to the jumpsuits he wore in both films.
- Originally, Gamora was the one who distrusted Ego, while Peter trusted him immediately. James Gunn found that the story only started to make sense when he swapped their roles around.
- James Gunn almost planned to kill off Gamora during this film, being the one to sacrifice herself to save Peter as opposed to Yondu, but eventually held off on it after being talked out of it by Kevin Feige and feeling that Yondu's death was a more natural way of progressing the story.
- Matthew McConaughey was initially offered the part of Ego the Living Planet before Kurt Russell was cast. When asked about why he turned it down, McConaughey responded with this.
Awesome Mix Vol. 2 consists of the tracks:
- 1. "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra
- 2. "Fox on the Run" by The Sweet
- 3. "Lake Shore Drive" by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah
- 4. "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac
- 5. "Bring it On Home to Me" by Sam Cooke
- 6. "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell
- 7. "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison
- 8. "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass
- 9. "Come a Little Bit Closer" by Jay and the Americans
- 10. "Wham Bang Shang-A-Lang" by Silver
- 11. "Surrender" by Cheap Trick
- 12. "Father and Son" by Yusuf / Cat Stevens
- 13. "Flashlight" by Parliament
- 14. "Guardians Inferno" by The Sneepers featuring David Hasselhoff
Other songs considered for Awesome Mix Vol. 2 according to writer and director James Gunn:
- "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger
- "Suffragette City" by David Bowie
