[Update: Writer/director James Gunn reached out to Steve on Twitter to confirm that indeed, the title of the Guardians sequel is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2! Check out his tweet below.]

Few expected Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy to be as monstrous a success as it was, but the film went on to gross a massive $774.1 million worldwide, which is pretty huge for an unknown property that didn't feature any "big" movie stars. Granted, the “Marvel Studios” brand is now powerful enough to propel lesser-known IP’s like Guardians to solid box office, but the film wouldn’t have done near as well if it simply wasn't very good. Co-writer/director James Gunn crafted a unique, fun, and funny take on the space opera genre, and audiences turned out in droves.

And as with any movie that’s a huge success, talk immediately turned to a sequel after its August release. Marvel announced a May 5, 2017 release date for Guardians of the Galaxy 2 before the first film even hit theaters, and while we've learned that the follow-up is “more emotional” and will delve into Star-Lord’s parentage, we don’t know too much about the project just yet--including its title.

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Image via Marvel

However, while Steve was speaking with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige during the press day for Ant-Man, Feige was explaining the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 shooting schedule when he potentially let slip the title of the highly anticipated sequel:

“We start shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 in February-March 2016.”

At the end of the interview, Steve asked Feige if he had just revealed the film's title, but the Marvel exec was noncommittal. If this is indeed the official title of the sequel, it will likely be visualized with a “Vol. 2” rather than spelling out the full word “Volume.” But regardless, it’s a fun enough spin on a sequel title that’s in keeping with the Guardians spirit. As you well know, Star-Lord’s famous mix tape from the first movie was called “Peter Quill’s Awesome Mix Vol. 1.”


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Obviously Marvel hasn’t officially announced the title just yet, but given that this is coming from the president of the studio, it seems possible that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is what will be splattered across billboards, posters, and backpacks galore come Spring 2017.

Look for more from Steve’s interview with Feige on Collider soon.

See Gunn's tweet confirming our scoop below, and click over to Facebook for more from Gunn on the title.

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/615597623135735808[/EMBED_TWITTER]

For a refresher on all of Marvel’s confirmed releases, see below. And for a catalog of all upcoming superhero movie release dates, click here.

  • Ant-Man – July 17, 2015
  • Captain America: Civil War – May 6, 2016
  • Doctor Strange - November 6, 2016
  • Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017
  • Untitled Spider-Man Reboot – July 28, 2017
  • Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017
  • Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 – May 4, 2018
  • Black Panther – July 6, 2018
  • Captain Marvel – November 2, 2018
  • Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 – May 3, 2019
  • Inhumans – July 12, 2019
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Image via Marvel

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Image via Marvel Studios