'Guardians Of The Galaxy 2' Is Not An 'Avengers: Infinity War' Prequel
Everyone assums Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is some kind of bridge movie to set up a big crossover in Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and 2. The release date, which comes exactly one year before Infinity War Part I, certainly suggests that, as does the probability of Thanos playing in role in both movies. But writer/director James Gunn wants to be very clear about this. That's simply not the case. Read Gunn's Avengers 3 prequel quote below.
Gunn was on The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith (transcribed by Comic Book) when he said the following:
The last thing I said was something about how the Guardians, we really are mostly focused on creating the Guardians as their own separate universe, creating the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. It isn't all about leading towards Avengers. We're not subservient to The Avengers. Whether or not at some point, some Guardians and some Avengers meet up and meet somewhere in the world, whether it's two years from now, three years from now, four years from now, fifteen years from now...I'm not going to say. But Guardians of the Galaxy does not exist as a prequel to Avengers 3 and 4. They have their own thing that they're involved in. They have their own mythos that they're involved in. They have their own stories that are equally important.
He's referring to these quotes from a few weeks back when he tried to make it obvious that there won't be a straight kind of crossover. Now he's made it even more clear. "Guardians of the Galaxy does not exist as a prequel to Avengers 3 and 4." Now, here's the important thing. He doesn't say, in either quote, that the films don't cross over. In fact, in this one he even teases it a bit. But he just wants everyone to know that the story in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will primarily serve itself, then the cosmic universe, and anything beyond that is less important. Also, he again teases that a crossover may not be a straight five on five team up. It could be smaller than that.
If anything, Gunn's quotes make Guardians of the Galaxy 2 seem more like a prequel to a hypothetical Adam Warlock movie, Nova movie or Groot and Rocket spinoff movie — films that take place specifically in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. And frankly, that's the way to go. Make the best movie possible for that movie on its own. If you worry too much about sequels or spinoffs, the film will suffer – ala Iron Man 2.
What do you think of James Gunn's Avengers 3 prequel quote?