‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2’ Director Discusses ‘Thanos’ and Awesome New BTS Pics

News of the Guardians of the Galaxy has been showered upon us this week, and the latest is a selection of new behind the scenes shots, as well as an explanation from director James Gunn regarding the surprising absence of Thanos (a.k.a. the Mad Titan) who was debuted in the first instalment. The news comes courtesy of Comic Book Movie around three months before the film’s late spring release date.

We’ve already heard Kevin Feige’s slant on the Thanos affair and his placement in the Marvel Extended Universe, and now James Gunn, director of Vol.2 has had his say. In an interview with Collider, Gunn explained that despite the Mad Titan appearance in the first film, he will not feature in the sequel so as not to detract from the central storyline. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 focuses on the dynamics of the team, particularly the relationship between the sisters Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana).

“It’s about two sisters. It’s not about the sisters and their father. It’s about two sisters and what were the sisters’ problems with each other? And, you know, some of those things were caused by being raised by the ultimate abusive father. But it really isn’t about Thanos, and frankly, I just wasn’t inspired to put him in the movie. You know, I kind of go with my gut on these things and it just wasn’t what I wanted to do. It wasn’t the most fun part of the movie last time for me and I just didn’t really wanna do it this time.

“And again, the relationship with Thanos has nothing to do with it. It’s not about their relationship with Thanos. It’s about their relationship to each other, and what is that? And that was interesting to me, and I thought that was important to our story, and that was important to our characters. What happened with them in the past—there’s a lot of stuff that happened with them in the past that affects our characters presently.”

So, although he may have no physically presence, we can expect a mention at the very least if some rekindling of sisterly, family bond is to be expected between Gamora and Nebula.


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There’s not long to wait now before our speculation can be put to rest. In the meantime, we’ve been gifted with a set of energetic behind the scenes photos to whet our appetites.

The official synopsis is as follows:

Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 sees the return of Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, and once again borrows the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper for Groot and Rocket respectively. New cast include Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan as Taserface and Kurt Russell as Ego.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 hits theaters on May 5th.

Emma Nicholson
Emma Nicholson
A UK based film nut who got lost on the way home from a Product Design degree in Wales and leapt into postgrad study of the media industries in London. Obsessed with road cycling, Sherlock Holmes (the books too), neo-noir, historical epics and bored of formulaic spectacle. Still waiting for a Hogwarts letter...