'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' Cast Will Expand But Won't Tie Into 'Avengers: Infinity War'

Comic book fans have a lot to look forward to with Phase three of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU), but the biggest outlier in the cavalcade of upcoming movies has got to be “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” With fans eagerly awaiting the return of Star Lord (Chris Pratt) and the gang in 2017, director James Gunn is already teasing details about the upcoming movie and how it will connect to Marvel Studio’s grander plan.

The 45-year-old director conducted a nearly 50-minute Q&A on Facebook wherein he fielded as many fan questions about the movie as he possibly could, without revealing too much of what’s ahead for the Guardians. The question on the tip of every MCU fan’s tongue is always how the films will connect to one another. “Guardians” is a special case in this connected universe as it perhaps the movie that stands on its own better than the others. After all, it didn’t even really utilize its end-credits tags for setups to future films, not that anyone is complaining about dancing Groot. Despite fans hoping that the two-part “Infinity Wars” films will offer the perfect occasion to link the Guardians with the Avengers, Gunn revealed that team up won’t be acknowledge in the 2017 sequel.

“I’m a lot more concerned with ‘Vol. 2’ than I am with ‘Infinity Wars.’ The way the movie [‘Vol.2’] is structured and made – it really is a strong story unto itself,” Gunn told a fan. “It’s not about leading up to anything else. It’s about the Guardians and their lives.”

While that’s bad news for fans that were hoping to see a team-up or crossover of some sort in the upcoming film, it doesn’t mean that Star Lord and Captain America (Chris Evans) won’t share the screen at some point in the future. With “Infinity War” being the glue that holds the MCU together, odds are good that the films won’t leave out any heroes when the time comes to battle Thanos (Josh Brolin), including some of its TV properties as well. However, in “Vol. 2” it seems Gunn wants to get to know the team of heroes he brought together in 2014 a bit better before that happens.

In fact, the director’s sentiments were mere echoes of what cast member Dave Bautista, who plays Drax, already said. Speaking to CinemaBlend, the actor revealed that a great deal of the sequel will have to do with these characters, their backstories and learning what makes them tick. However, that doesn’t mean that Guardians won’t seek to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all. As Comic Book Movie points out, Gunn once again teased that he is planning to introduce at least one new character to the “Guardians” cast in the next movie. Unfortunately, he refused to elaborate more on the subject.

What would you like to see happen in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.