Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 Links to Avengers: Infinity Wars, New Photos & More

Let's first begin with our favorite new photo from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2:

Courtesy Marvel/Walt Disney Pictures.

Yes, that's Baby Groot in some kind of adorable miniature cardigan. Where Baby Groot got such stylish (and sensible!) winter garb is beyond us, but we're extremely bullish on how much we like it. The popped collar? Yes Baby Groot, yes.

Along with Baby Groot, we come bearing some interesting news on the Marvel Cinematic Universe front; specifically that Karen Gillan has said, on the record, that her Guardians character Nebula will have a role in the Russo brothers upcoming mega-crossover film Avengers: Infinity War. This comes on the heels of finding out last week the great Peter Dinklage is using the gap in his Game of Thrones shooting schedule to join the film in an undisclosed role. Getting two pieces of casting news for a top-secret film in a week is rare. 

For the uninitiated, Nebula's involvement in Infinity War makes a lot of sense considering she's the adopted daughter of Thanos (Josh Brolin), who will finally factor into the storyline in a more substantial, active role than he has before. Thanos was, of course, the chief operator in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, setting the events into motion that led to Ronan the Accuser's gambit for galactic domination (and his eventual death at the hands of the newly formed Guardians.) While Nebula was a major antagonist for the Guardians (especially to her sister Gamora, as showcased above, played by Zoe Saldana), she escaped at the end of the film. When Marvel released the Vol 2 poster, we were surprised to see Nebula appearing as part of the team, alongside the core group and the greedy, lethal Yondu (Michael Rooker). 

Gillan told BBC that she'd be "making a little appearance in the next Avengers movie," which, while hardly a huge reveal, does make us wonder whether or not she'll be helping or fighting the Avengers. While we'll have to wait a while until we see just how the Russo brothers use Nebula in their film, we can at least prepare to enjoy her doing her worst in Vol 2, which comes out on May 5, 2017. Avengers: Infinity War, alas, isn't set to open until May 4, 2018.