No Thanos, Infinity Stones In Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2

Filming on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 begins this week, and director James Gunn has already dropped some hints regarding the highly-anticipated sequel's plot - specifically, that Thanos and the Infinity Stones will not factor in to the story at all. Thanos - the death-obsessed Titan who first appeared in 1973's Iron Man #55 - made his film debut in a post-credits scene of 2012's The Avengers. Since then, he's been positioned as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's "big bad," appearing briefly in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron. His quest for the Infinity Stones - gems of limitless power and shifting form that have appeared as MacGuffins in the MCU for years - is expected to take him to earth in the two-part Avengers: Infinity War, where he will finally battle the titular superhero team. Saying "We've got other fish to fry," in a video posted to Facebook, Gunn went on to mention that a new cast member has joined up for Vol. 2, playing "a new member of the Guardians of the Galaxy" and adding "she was the most awesome and easiest person I've ever had to cast, and blew me the f*ck away." Gunn also told fans that he has ideas for a Vol. 3, but is "not sure" if he'll return. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens May 5, 2017. Little is known about the film, but it is expected that Peter Quill's father will play a major role in the plot.