Guardians of the Galaxy Will Be in Next Avengers Movie

While the Guardians of the Galaxy are very much part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to date their stories have been largely separate from other Marvel movies. However, Groot actor Vin Diesel has now revealed that they will play a part in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.

Diesel announced the news on a Facebook live video. "Now, the Guardians will be included in Avengers: Infinity War and that’s incredibly exciting," he said, via Variety. "You were told before everybody."

While it is not surprising that the Guardians will play a part in Infinity War, given how many Marvel characters are expected to appear, this is will be the first major crossover between the team and their more Earth-bound Marvel colleagues. Earlier this month, director James Gunn revealed that next year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 will be an entirely self-contained story.

Avengers: Infinity War was originally planned as two movies, but a retitling last month has meant that the second film will be something different. Although they are shooting back-to-back, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have stressed that they will not be two parts of the same story.

"The movies are very, very different from one another," Anthony Russo told IO9 earlier this year. "It's not a part one and part two scenario, necessarily. They're just two different expressions. I think it creates a misconception that we're shooting them at the same time."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 wrapped production in June, and arrives in theaters on May 5, 2017. Avengers: Infinity War will be released on May 4, 2018, with the currently untitled fourth Avengers movie following on May 3, 2019.