Tom Holland may have earned his title as Marvel’s least tight-lipped star, but the spoiler-happy “Spider-Man” actor is far from the only cast member in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have let something slip over the years. Mark Ruffalo accidentally livestreamed the opening scenes of “Thor: Ragnarok” to Instagram at its world premiere, Gwyneth Paltrow told a magazine that Tony and Pepper would be married with a kid ahead of “Avengers: Endgame,” and Owen Wilson once received a mysterious text message notifying him he’d crossed a line when sharing “Loki” scoops with the press (hilariously, it apparently just said “strike one”).
Despite his enduring star power, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” actor Kurt Russell apparently wasn’t immune from strict rules about sharing spoilers, but it didn’t stop him from giving his family a sneak peek of the movie. In an interview with “Good Morning America” around the time of the 2017 movie’s release, Russell admitted that he snapped a picture of a pivotal scene from the movie because the digital de-aging applied to him for a flashback sequence was just too cool to keep to himself. “I saw this and I had to, I took a picture, and I sent it to Goldie and the kids,” Russell told the show’s co-hosts, who noted that the clip in question could not be played for the studio audience ahead of the film’s release.
Of course, Russell’s wife, actor Goldie Hawn, and kids, including actor Wyatt Russell, are surely no stranger to Hollywood’s spoilerphobic culture. The photo never got out, but Russell joked that he’d be toast if it did. “[I] said, ‘If you show this to anybody, I’ll be dead tomorrow, so you have to not do that! But look at this,” he recalled. He also admitted that he “violated a cardinal sin because at Marvel, they really hold things close to the vest.”
The actor snuck a photo of young Ego the Living Planet
The actor also revealed that he wasn’t even told his character’s name during the time he spent on set for “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.” As he revealed to GMA, “I didn’t know my character’s name was Ego the Living Planet for the three weeks I was shooting.”
Personally, I think a little bit of spoiling behind the scenes is healthy for any franchise, as recent Marvel movies and shows have demonstrated that keeping every aspect of a storyline under wraps –- or purposely misdirecting fans with misleading trailers and leaks –- can backfire when the real thing turns out to be less interesting than what’s advertised. In other cases, though, the surprise is everything: Despite persistent rumors, the two additional Spider-Men featured in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” were largely able to keep a lid on their extensive appearances in the film, leading to some of the most authentically shocked theater reactions in recent memory.
Despite his stealthy rule-breaking, Russell seemed to have a great time in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” He told Yahoo Entertainment that he was at first hesitant to play “the bad guy” who could “ruin” the already-beloved franchise, but he still got on board after finding out mid-press junket for another movie that he was in the running for the part of Peter Quill’s long-lost dad. “I’ve loved playing characters who’ve had great names,” he told the outlet, circling back to the moniker he didn’t learn about until after wrapping his shoot. “I think it gives you the chance to play someone who’s memorable, because if they fit their name, you remember them.” In the case of Ego, the script gave viewers everything they needed to understand the character: “All you had to do was listen to his name.”
