Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 'unconnected' with Marvel Cinematic Universe says director

One of the things that superhero fans seem to love most about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how well the studio connects all of its movies. From standalone pictures about Ant-Man, Iron Man and Captain America to ensemble outings such as The Avengers, both storylines and characters usually end up intertwining. Even its television series like Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Daredevil make reference to other characters seen on the big screen on a regular basis.

But as more and more movies are being made, keeping up that tradition must be becoming an increasingly difficult task. So much so that director James Gunn recently revealed during a Twitter Q&A session that his upcoming sequel Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 barely ties in with the rest of the franchise's instalments.

"I'm so out in space unconnected at this point, outside of Thanos in Vol 1, I've never had to deal with even a single moment of continuity," the film-maker candidly stated, when asked whether having to maintain continuity across the broader series limited him from making the movie exactly the way he wanted to.

On the other hand, while Gunn did mention the fact that Thanos appeared in the 2014 film, the character certainly played a bigger part in the movie than his brief reference seems to suggest – and, similarly, has a strong presence across all of the MCU too. Voiced by Josh Brolin, Thanos has been an almost puppetmaster-like villain since The Avengers in 2012. He's also been associated with Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is frequently seen in multiple films across the franchise.

Also, the extraterrestrial warlord's ultimate goal is to collect all six of the Infinity Stones, powerful gems that when put together can bestow the owner with almost unmatchable power. Loki's scepter is an Infinity Stone, as is the gem in Vision's forehead. Other stones have been seen in films as diverse as Thor and follow-up Thor: The Dark World and Doctor Strange, so it's safe to say, Thanos is arguably the biggest player across the whole series.

While Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 may not directly link to any outside movies itself in terms of plot, lead characters such as Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) are expected to appear in Avengers: Infinity War. So sooner or later, the continuity is going to come into play!

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 is currently scheduled for a UK release in cinemas on 28 April 2017 and 5 May in the US.

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