Guardians of The Galaxy was one of the last Marvel Studios productions to come out with a sense of actual risk hovering over it, with the question of whether or not it would be a success very much unanswered right up until it landed in the famously difficult August release period. As such when it became immediately clear that the film was a runaway hit and would warrant a sequel, there wasn’t a title or a logo ready to go; a fact which Marvel seemed to turn into a gag via a hasty-looking temporary logo where “2” had been scrawled onto the original film’s titles.

Now, with shooting underway on the hotly-anticipated Marvel space-adventure Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (as it’s officially titled), writer/director James Gunn has shared a photo of his director’s chair for the production; revealing a slick new official logo.

The new logo (see below) retains the “scrawl” effect for the sequel numbering, but with Vol. 2 now rendered in bright red against a white (or silver?) block font for the main title in contrast to the rusted-metal look from the first film. Of note, that worn/rusted look wound up corresponding to the grungy look of many locations visited by the Guardians on their adventure the first time around - is it possible they’ll now be spending time in more “polished” locations?

In the words of the great poet David Coverdale, Here I go again. #GotGVol2 A photo posted by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Feb 11, 2016 at 1:22pm PST

As with the other forthcoming Marvel productions, the premise and story of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are being kept securely under-wraps for the time being. What little is known points to a storyline involving Starlord’s (Chris Pratt) yet-to-be identified father, a character who may or may not end up being played by Kurt Russell. It was recently further confirmed that the film will not directly concern itself with either Thanos or the Infinity Stones, two plot-points key to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity that featured prominently in the first movie.

The entire main cast of the original film is expected to return, with Pratt once again being joined by Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista and Vin Diesel as Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer and Groot, respectively. Supporting characters Yondu (Michael Rooker), Nebula (Karen Gillan) are also expected back, along with Pom Klementieff as the new character Mantis and comedian Steve Agee in an unspecified role. The status of other supporting characters from the original such as Nova Prime, Roman Dey and and The Collector is unknown, with actor Benicio del Toro (The Collector) stating that he has not yet been contacted about a return.

Thus far, perhaps the most intriguing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 rumor is that the film will include one of Marvel’s most unusual creations, “Ego: The Living Planet.” A gigantic sentient mass of matter hailing from The Black Galaxy, Ego is typically depicted as a planet whose topographical features form the shape of a human-like face (including a goatee beard, because why not?) that can speak and move through space under its own power. Initially introduced as a villain for the Thor series, Ego has been a fixture in some of Marvel’s most noteworthy “cosmic” event storylines. Some have speculated that, as the comic book version of Ego (or his more-aggressive doppleganger, Ego-Prime) occasional exhibits tendencies to overtake or alter “normal” planets, “he” may end up filling a role similar to Galactus: the planet-devouring cosmic entity who currently cannot appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (since 20th Century Fox has the Fantastic Four movie rights… for now, anyway).

Captain America: Civil War will release on May 6, 2016, followed by Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; Inhumans – July 12, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on May 1, July 10 and November 6, 2020.

Source: James Gunn