Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Director says It Won't Connect With Infinity War

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe shares characters and storylines, some of the movies are definitely more self-contained than others. Such was the case of 2014's intergalactic smash Guardians of the Galaxy, and now director James Gunn has revealed that the upcoming sequel will have even less to do with the other Earth-bound Marvel adventures.

During a Q&A on Facebook, Gunn was asked if fans could expect to see the Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, given their links to the wider Marvel universe and the fact the villainous Thanos, who is after them, was introduced in the first movie. "There will be no Infinity Stones in Vol.2", he confirmed. "There will be infinity nothing. It's a story about the Guardians and isn't meant to lead to anything else."

This isn't the first time that Gunn has stressed that the Guardians films, despite existing in the same universe, are standalone adventures. During another Facebook Q&A in February, he revealed that Thanos wouldn't feature either. "Thanos isn't in this movie. I think he's gonna have a little bit to do and say when it comes to a certain wars and infinity," he said, in reference to 2018's Avengers: Infinity War. "We've got other fish to fry."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 wrapped production in June, and arrives in theaters on May 5, 2017. It stars Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, and Kurt Russell. Last month, new concept art revealed a new character, the super-powered Mantis.