With writer and director James Gunn confirming his return for "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3," the cast has been expressing their hopes for the forthcoming third installment -- even though the second film hasn't officially hit theaters yet. Zoe Saldana already discussed her hopes for Gamora going forward, and while she has said that she isn't sure where else James Gunn can take her character, her co-star Chris Pratt sees plenty of room for Star-Lord to grow in future installments.

While speaking with ScreenRant during the recent press junket for "Vol. 2," Pratt was asked what he felt was next for Peter Quill, and whether he felt a return to Earth was in the character's future. To this, Pratt responded by saying he felt that the fact that we haven't seen the Guardians films hit Earth yet was a "beautiful" thing because of just how much story there was still to be told. This allows for Marvel to take the Guardians "outward," as the actor explained, giving them more material to explore -- including Star-Lord himself.

"You get to further explore, and I think there’s a ton of untapped potential in all the relationships from the Guardians," Pratt explained. "I mean, you now know, we’ve now figured out the full origin of Peter Quill. We know who his mother is, from where he came, we know who raised him. We know who his biological father is by the end of this movie. This is all stuff that we’ve learned about Peter but there’s a lot more to learn about Quill and all the other Guardians of the Galaxy and you know, I could spitball. There’s a there’s a lot of potential to do this for a long time."

The first film showed Peter's abduction from Earth following his mother's death, and with "Vol. 2" set to introduce Kurt Russell as Ego, aka Star-Lord's father, we're slowly beginning to learn more regarding his character -- but there's still plenty left to explore in the future. As Pratt says, that's one of the biggest advantages the Guardians films have over other superhero films: they're not limited to a small sandbox. They have the entire galaxy to explore with these characters.

Pratt was also asked about where he'd like to see Star-Lord head in "Avengers: Infinity War," which will see the Guardians join forces with the Avengers for the first time on the big screen. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the actor has plenty of ideas including seeing how Peter would react upon returning to Earth.

"I’m curious to see what would happen if Peter Quill went to his home planet. I’m curious to see what kind of trouble he got in relationship wise before he met Gamora, you know," Pratt mused. "I’m curious to see just who he’s screwed over in his life to get where he is. I’m curious to see what his behaviors as a Ravager has done and how that will karmically resonate through the cosmos and come back to him. I want to see him as a father figure to Groot. I want to see him, you know, there’s a lot more those are just a few ideas off the top of my head."

While it's fun to look ahead and the possibilities for the Guardians, we still have to get through "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2." The sequel, which hits theaters in a little over two weeks, brings back fan-favorite characters like Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot and adds a few new members to the team, including Mantis and Nebula. Together, this motley crew will encounter Star-Lord’s father Ego the Living Planet and then have to save the galaxy — again.

Written and directed by James Gunn, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as Baby Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan as Taserface, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Glenn Close as Irani Rael and Kurt Russell as Ego the Living Planet.