Following the reveal of its subscriber-exclusive Groot cover, "Empire Magazine" has revealed three new stills from the forthcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2." The photos are part of "Empire's" eight-page spread on the movie in an upcoming issue, where it will have a few exclusives directly from the set, possibly including some clues regarding Michael Rosenbaum's recently announced secret role in the film? For now, we'll have to be happy with a few more never-before-seen photos from the highly-anticipated sequel.

The first of the three newly released stills features Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) coming face to face in what appears to be a confrontation of sorts.

The second still features the Guardians with a handcuffed Nebula, played by actress Karen Gillan. Going off of the trailers for the film, and previous rumors, it's expected that the former villain will ally with the Guardians at some point in the sequel's story.

The final of the three stills features Kurt Russell as Ego The Living Planet, Star-Lord's father within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Interestingly enough, Empire Magazine revealed that it was actually Star-Lord himself, Chris Pratt, who suggested Kurt Russell for the role. Once Pratt put the idea in director James Gunn's head, Gunn went with it, writing the role for Russell prior to even getting the actor to sign on for the project. Of course, talks clearly worked out, and Russell will soon be making his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Russell puts it, he understood why they felt he'd be a good pick for the role shortly after reading the script because of the baggage from his other films. “The baggage I bring from some of the movies I’ve done is the right kind of baggage to bring into this one.”

Written and directed by James Gunn, the film stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” opens May 5.