No Thanos in Guardians Vol. 2, James Gunn's got "other fish to fry"

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn took time out from preparations on the sequel - which starts shooting this week - to participate in a Facebook Q&A, during which he spilled the beans on a couple of matters. Despite previously stating that the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Mad Titan, Thanos, would not be involved in round two, recent chatter from Josh Brolin led fans to wondering if he might make a quick cameo. As it turns out, he won't even do that.

"Thanos will not appear in Vol. 2," Gunn says. "No. As I’ve said before, 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. We’ve got other fish to fry in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

What those other fish might be is unknown. Gunn is keeping plot specifics on the quiet for now, but did confirm one major component of the MCU that won't be a part of the film. "We’re not really so much about the Infinity Stones in Guardians 2. Is that a spoiler? It’s not really a thing."

Of the six Infinity Stones, so far four have appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That leaves the Time Stone and the Soul Stone, both of which will be uncovered at some point before The Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1. This is a plus for Gunn, who won't have to compromise on crafting a stand-alone Guardians sequel that's as bonkers as the original.

Directed by James Gunn, and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 opens on May 5, 2017.

Images: Marvel

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.