‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Confirmed as Standalone Film not Leading to ‘Avengers’, No Infinity Stones Featured; Stan Lee to Cameo

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ is confirmed as a standalone film that will not lead up to the events of the upcoming ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ film. It will also not feature any Infinity Stones. Marvel’s Stan Lee is set to make a cameo in the upcoming film.

According to Comic Book Resources, director James Gunn revealed that his upcoming second installment in Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ cinematic series will have nothing to do with the upcoming ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ film.

During a Facebook Q&A event, he stressed that his upcoming sequel will be a standalone film. He said, "There will be infinity nothing. It's a story about the GuarDian's, and isn't meant to lead to anything else." He also admitted that it will not contain the Infinity Stones. He clarified, "I decide everything that happens in 'GotG… Other than that it's in the hands of others."

Gunn added, "I'm dealing with this one story… It's not like I have to change something now for something in the future. It's more like whatever happens in the future will have to be changed by what's created now."

During a previous interview, the 46-year old filmmaker said that the galactic overlord Thanos will not be featured in the sequel. He explained, “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'... We're not really so much about the Infinity Stones in 'Guardians 2.' Is that a spoiler? It's not really a thing."

According to the Independent, a trailer for the upcoming film was premiered at the recent San Diego Comic-Con. It featured the return of main cast members Chris Pratt as Peter Quill a.k.a. Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Vin Diesel as Groot. It also introduced Kurt Russell as Star-Lord’s father Ego.

Meanwhile, Stan Lee is confirmed to be making a cameo in Gunn’s new film. According to Comicbook.com, the director posted a photograph of himself together with Lee, who was dressed in a Captain America jacket. He captioned the image, “Ran into Stan Lee backstage after the Comic-Con signing. I can't tell you how much I love this man. He was my idol when I was ten, and still is today.”

Lee, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, is known for his cameos on several feature films as well as television projects. He appeared on 2000’s ‘X-Men’, 2002’s ‘Spider-Man’, 2003’s ‘Daredevil’, 2003’s ‘Hulk’, 2008’s ‘Iron Man’, 2011’s ‘Thor’, and 2012’s ‘The Avengers’ among others.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ is an upcoming action-adventure and science-fiction film scheduled to premiere in theaters on May 5, 2017. It is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the USA.