With sequels comes new additions. It just comes with the territory. While the Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel are locked in to reprise their “a-hole” roles, with Karen Gillan back as nefarious daughter of the Mad Titan otherwise known as Thanos, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is starting to cast new faces for the upcoming space opera sequel.

A new report says that Pom Klementieff (Oldboy) has signed off to appear in the film, while Matthew McConaughey has turned down the chance to appear in the sequel, leaving director James Gunn to look elsewhere. More on the story below.

First, Pom Klementieff. According to THR, the Asian actress has signed on to play a “key role” in the film. Unfortunately, the trade was unable to specify what this “key role” is. Could she aid the Guardians in their fight to protect the galaxy or will she end up being a force to be reckoned with. Apparently, Marvel did a wide casting search, specifically for an Asian actress. So who could she be playing? Some say the alien Mantis, who was born in an unknown village in Vietnam. Her powers include being able to communicate telepathically with plants, survive in space, and transfer herself (and her son) from plant life to plant life across interstellar distances or interdimensionally. She also can speak to Eternity and Death. She is also able to fire powerful energy blasts and form energy fields. In the comics, she is also a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Others suspect that it could be Drax’s daughter Moondragon. However, Ronan said he remembers killing Drax’s entire family, so you may want to either throw that theory out or just chalk it up to the fact the he just said that to aggravate Drax. But Gunn has said that the theme of the sequel would be about family, specifically fathers, and what better way to express that theme than to throw in a daughter you thought was dead into the mix. Moondragon has psionic powers include telepathy, mind control, personality alteration, memory modification, illusion casting, levitation, and force blasts. At one point in the comics, she wielded the powers of the Mind Stone. But seeing how The Vision is currently using it, I don’t see how this would be possible in the MCU. So we’ll just have to wait and see who Klementieff ends up playing.

Klementieff is a relative unknown. One of her high-profile roles was in Spike Lee’s retelling of Oldboy. She has also appeared in films like Porn in the Hood, and the upcoming Hacker’s Game.

Now onto Matthew McConaughey turning down a role. A report from Variety says that he was offered the part of the villain. It’s too early to say who he would have played, but seeing who Marvel is gunning for, I wonder who they will make the offer to next. Although they won’t be searching for very long, as the trade suspects that an announcement could be made within the next few weeks, as shooting is due to start in early 2016 over at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, GA.

Michael Rooker (Yondu) and Benicio Del Toro (The Collector) are also expected to return to reprise their roles from Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will hit theaters on May 5, 2017.

[Source: Variety | THR]