'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' Releasing 2017 Won’t Let Fans See Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser

Director James Gunn has confirmed that Lee Pace's Ronan won't be returning in the upcoming highly anticipated sequel to the hit Guardians of the Galaxy. The second movie is set to release on May 5, 2017. 

Actor Lee Pace had gone on to tell that he would love to reprise the role of Ronan the Accuser for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but it would seem that Gunn won't be granting his wish for now.

Though the director had confirmed Pace will not return for the sequel, he did not rule out the possibility of Ronan returning in future films.

Gunn broke the news during a Q&A on Facebook. The filmmaker is asked two separate times whether Ronan might return. While he's noncommittal about the possibility of Ronan coming back eventually ("Who knows"), he's crystal-clear about whether Ronan will be in the next Guardians of the Galaxy ("But not in 2″).

As of last week, Pace sounded eager to return as Ronan commenting, "I love the character, I'd love to play him again! Who knows!?" Even at the time, though, he acknowledged he'd be "the last person" whether his villainous character might resurface, according to a report from SlashFilm.

This news isn't really surprising as Marvel is still struggling to craft equally compelling villains, with the rare exception of Loki and probably the Winter Soldier. Marvel had been concentrating on creating great superheroes at this point. Marvel villains are said to be one-dimensional figures and when they lose the battle with the hero in a climactic showdown, they then disappear forever.

Ronan is no similar to Loki as Ronan is a weaker character in the Guardians of the Galaxy saga. Pace, nonetheless, has exerted much time and effort into the character, but who knows, there are still a lot of Marvel movies coming out soon. Fans need to take note too of the planned crossover of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Pace, on the other hand, might be a bit of disappointed but he has a lot on his plate right now. His AMC series Halt and Catch Fire will return this year for its second season and he is part of the upcoming Lance Armstrong biopic Icon.