'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Release Date, Cast, News & Update: Director James Gunn Based Groot on This

"Guardians of the Galaxy" fan-favorite Groot is a powerful anthropomorphic tree, but he may seem meek because of his wondrous and innocent nature similar that of a child's. Director James Gunn said that this take on Groot's gentle giant nature was intentional, and that the character was inspired by his dog.

On Tuesday's 16-minute Facebook Live session on the set of "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2," the filmmaker revealed his favorite Guardians.

"It's hard for me to be more attached to any character than I am to Rocket and Groot," Gunn said, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly. "Rocket, because he's based on me, and Groot, because he's based on my dog."

When asked if villain Thanos, who is played by Josh Brolin, will appear in the flick, Gunn was quick to dismiss the assumption.

"I didn't want to have [Thanos]. 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' is very much a story of the Guardians of the Galaxy," Gunn shared, as quoted by the news outlet. "It's not that it's not connected to the rest of the Marvel Universe, but it's not a part of that overall story. It's really a story about the Guardians, which I've made pretty clear for a long time."

The 45-year-old director also talked about the sequel's soundtrack, which is now getting huge expectations after the original blockbuster film's Awesome Mix No. 1 topped the charts.

"The difficult part about picking the songs on Awesome Mix Vol. 2 is there are songs that I would love to use that I just don't have room for. I know that putting a song on this soundtrack that a lot of people are going to hear, so I love the opportunity to share great music with people. ... I really share the songs that work the best in the movie emotionally," Gunn explained, as quoted by EW.

Production for the upcoming sequel is now 20 days underway and is currently filming in Atlanta, Gunn revealed. Shooting is set to wrap in June, EW reported.

'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Cast & Release Date

The highly anticipated sequel stars Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Vin Diesel (as Groot's voice), and Bradley Cooper (as Rocket's voice).

Other stars who will be reprising their roles in the film are Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), and Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Marvel's official site listed. New cast members include Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, and Kurt Russell.

The movie bows in theaters on May 5, 2017.