James Gunn Talks ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 2’: No Pressure To Connect To MCU

When “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is released on May 5, it will be the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but according to director James Gunn, the movie did not have to tie into the other releases.

While speaking with The Daily Beast, Gunn revealed that “not a single thing in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’” was ever dictated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In fact, the director said things he came up with for his film will now have to be dealt with in the upcoming Marvel movie, “Avengers: Infinity War.” Like “Doctor Strange,” Gunn said his film is a “100 percent self-enclosed story.”

READ: “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” Will Have An End-Credits Scene

But when asked if he was aware of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige’s plans, the director reassured audiences that he was never forced to add anything to his films. “I know what their plans are,” Gunn said. “But there’s just nothing I do to service that within ‘Vol. 2’s’ story; all that’s important is ‘Vol. 2.’”

According to Gunn, there were “some more technical weird things” that had to be dealt with in the first movie but it is no longer “part of the conversation.” The filmmaker says that may have to do with the franchise belonging to what he calls “Marvel Cosmic” — a part of Marvel’s intergalactic universe featuring characters less grounded in reality.

“There’s Marvel Cosmic and there’s Marvel General. They’re going to have a brief overlay but besides that, it’s really Marvel Cosmic and Marvel General. And so far, Marvel Cosmic has been purely me,” he said.

While it’s uncertain how “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” will affect “Infinity War,” Pratt and several other cast members are set to appear in both.