We are still three years away from the final film of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Thanos is not getting any closer to getting the final two Infinity Gems he needs to fully power his Infinity Gauntlet. Though we saw a very tiny non-speaking glimpse of him in The Avengers, and more of him in Guardians of the Galaxy, where we saw him use Ronan as a pawn to obtain the Power Stone and tasked Nebula with making sure that the Kree warlord would follow through. Of course, if you watched the movie, then you know things didn’t go according to plan, which forced him to collect the stones on his own – as we all saw in the mid-credits scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Though it would make some sense for the Mad Titan to make yet another appearance chasing one of the final two remaining Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, director James Gunn is coming out to say that isn’t the case at all for the sequel. In fact, he is saying that there are no Infinity Stones in the film at all. More on the story below.

Gunn confirmed the news on his personal Facebook page where he said that the sequel would be about the Guardians. In some cases, the Infinity Stones (aka the MCU’s MacGuffins) are the weak points in the respective films. While it may have served the story in Captain America: The First Avenger and Guardians Of The Galaxy well, it certainly did not help Thor: The Dark World or Avengers: Age of Ultron. That being said, it’s understood that these stones are leading up to the formerly two-part Avengers finale. Still, it’s nice that Gunn can now take a break from the stones to tell a story that doesn’t involve Infinity Stones or the Mad Titan.

There is no reason to fully rule out an appearance from Thanos or an Infinity Stone in the post-credit scene, but seeing as how the first Guardians‘ post credit scene didn’t really involve Thanos or any of the Stones, we aren’t exactly going to hold our breath that the sequel will be centered on either of them. Then there is the case where the filmmakers behind the film have to lie to keep from spoiling the film. However, that hasn’t worked before, as we have seen in Star Trek Into Darkness, and Gunn isn’t one who would lie to his fans. He did speak the truth when he said that J’son isn’t Star-Lord’s father (in the MCU). The director confirmed that Star-Lord’s father is actually Ego The Living Planet (Kurt Russell) at the San Diego Comic-Con last week – be sure to check out why he thinks revealing it now is not a huge spoiler. He was also telling us the truth when he said that the sequel would not have the Hulk or borrow from the Planet Hulk storyline, which was also confirmed at SDCC. So given his track record, there is no reason for him to lie to us.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrives May 5, 2017.

[Source: James Gunn Facebook]