Thanos has been a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, but director James Gunn says the character will not be involved in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
In a recent Facebook Q&A, Gunn confirmed that Thanos will not actually appear on screen at all in the upcoming sequel.
"Thanos isn’t in this movie," Gunn said. "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."
Gunn went on to reveal that the Infinity Stones won't be a part of the plot, either, explaining that this is "not really a thing" in Vol. 2. This is in contrast with the original Guardians, in which we saw more of Thanos than we ever have before. Gunn's statements are also a bit surprising considering Guardians Vol 2. will be released just a year before Avengers: Infinity War. So, many fans thought one might help lead into the other.
However, this fits in with comments Gunn has previously made about wanting to keep The Avengers and Guardians somewhat separate from one another, as he clarified in a Facebook post in 2014.
"And, regarding the bigger picture, [Marvel and I] agreed on one thing, and that was to keep huge chunks of the Guardians separate from the Marvel heroes of earth, because they have a whole galaxy to explore," Gunn wrote. "We wanted to use them as a way to make the MCU bigger, not smaller."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will hit theaters on May 5, 2017.