LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Pom Klementieff has joined the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
The 29-year-old French actress will star alongside Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as Rocket the Racoon, Vin Diesel as Groot and Dave Bautista as Drax.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter Marvel conducted an extensive search for an Asian actress to fill the mystery role. Klementieff, who is of Korean, French and Russian heritage, impressed execs from the start, according to Variety.
James Gunn, who directed the first movie, wrote and will return to helm the sequel, with Kevin Feige as producer. Gunn and the studio reportedly wanted Matthew McConaughey to play the villain, but the actor turned down the opportunity.
Guardians of the Galaxy opened in theaters in August 2014, and earned over $774 million at the box office. The sequel is scheduled for May 5, 2017, and will co-star Benicio del Toro as The Collector, Karen Gillan as Nebula and Sean Gunn as Kraglin.
Klementieff is known for the French movies Apres lui and Loup, and made her Hollywood debut in Spike Lee's Oldboy remake starring Josh Brolin. She last appeared in the thriller Hacker's Game with Chris Schellenger.
