'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2': James Gunn Teases Long VFX Shots, Opening Credits & Baby Groot Dancing

In case you didn't hear, tickets for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 went on sale this past Friday, and a new TV spot made sure to push the movie even more before it hits theaters in early May. As we get closer to the release date, the hype train will be operating at full steam, and director James Gunn has just offered a tease of what fans can expect this time around. The anticipated sequel will feature some long visual effects shots, especially when it comes to the opening credits, and plenty more of Baby Groot dancing

Find out what's so special about the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 opening credits below and how James Gunn gave Baby Groot his new dance moves after the jump.

If you're already on board with Guardians of the Galaxy, then you're likely not going to be late to the movie. That's good, because James Gunn teases an opening credits sequence that will be rather special, both visually and musically. Here's what Gunn had to say to Fandango about the opening credits.

"We have a lot of very long effects shots, too. Our opening credits are all to a musical piece, and those opening credits are all one long, huge shot with a lot of practical elements and a lot of special effect elements, and that's something we finished on the first day of shooting and it still is not totally done yet."

The fact that they finished the opening credits sequence on the first day of shooting and they're still working on it in post-production is enough for me to get excited about it. The opening credits for the first Guardians of the Galaxy is when I started to feel like I was going to love this movie. Star-Lord was dancing around the planet Morag to the tune "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone. It sounds like there will be something a little more complex this time, and I can't wait to see what it is. My gut tells me it may involve the sequence with that abilisk monster, but that's just speculation on my part.

In general it sounds like the visuals in general are really going to up the ante from the first film now that Marvel Studios has confidence in the title. Gunn touted that in addition to digging deeper into the relationships between the Guardians of the Galaxy that the visuals are an important part too:

"I also think there's a beautiful aspect of this film where the visuals are such an important part of this movie, more so than most Marvel films. There's a lot of stuff like that in Doctor Strange, but we really take it to a different level."

Doctor Strange definitely brought unique visuals to the table, which was one of the elements that helped an otherwise derivative superhero origin story feel a little more fresh than it otherwise would have. We've already seen some shots in the trailers with a much larger scope than the original movie, especially when it comes to the production design and art direction. Plus, let's not forget what James Gunn said about the visual effects being employed for Ego the Living Planet.

For those who don't know, James Gunn was the inspiration for Baby Groot's dance moves that played during the credits of Guardians of the Galaxy the first time around. The good news is that Gunn did the exact same thing for the toddler size version of Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but this time it was a more complex process. Gunn explains:

"Yes, I still do all of Groot's dancing in the film, in a much bigger way. I actually had to do like a full day's worth of dancing to get Groot's dance down this time. Last time it was me in front of an iPhone, and this time it's me dancing on a huge soundstage and shooting it from five different angles."

And don't worry, just because they shot all of James Gunn's dance moves in a more professional manner doesn't mean we'll see Baby Groot suddenly become some kind of professional Step Up style dancer. Gunn says, "I do all my own choreography for baby Groot. I'm a one-man band when it comes to baby Groot dancing." I can't wait to see what Baby Groot grooves to this time.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrives May 5.