'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Connects To 'Avengers 3;' Plus New Image

On the calendar, Guardians of the Galaxy is the Marvel Cinematic Universe film that immediately precedes next year's Avengers: Age of Ultron. That might lead some to think the new characters in James Gunn's sci-fi action film will appear alongside Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and the rest in May. Well, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige long ago crushed those hopes, saying Guardians of the Galaxy was almost totally its own story.

This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though. It's all connected. Thanos, who appeared in The Avengers, finally reappears in Guardians and those Infinity Gems that have been carefully placed all across the films, likely do too. Now, the writer and director of Guardians of the Galaxy has just made everything nice and simple. He's confirmed what we'd all assumed: Guardians of the Galaxy will tie into Avengers 3.

Gunn revealed the connection in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, quoted by Comic Book Movie. He also tweeted that brand new image, above.

[Guardians of the Galaxy] is definitely connected to Avengers 3.

Gunn also said Thanos would be performance capture and referred to him as the "head of the snake." Then he talked about the origins of Star-Lord and Gamora/Nebula:

[Star Lord] was abducted from Earth (Missouri) at age 8 and raised in a group of thieves and smuggles called the Ravagers. He's good with the ladies and a little bit of a dick and very lucky. Thanos slaughtered [Gamora's] family and Nebula's, then raised them together as siblings. They were bio engineered to become living weapons, so he's really good at killing people.

Lots of good stuff there, and it's nice to hear a Marvel person simply say what other film they connect to. That, obviously, suggests another assumption most fans have had for a long time, that Thanos will be the main villain in Avengers 3 — requiring the combined skills of both the Avengers and Guardians. But will the Guardians get another sequel before Avengers 3? I think that's a decision we'll hear more about once Disney sees the box office returns in August.

Does this news surprise you?