James Gunn says 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie is connected to 'The Avengers 3'

Marvel Studios has slowly been building out its cinematic universe since the debut of Iron Man in 2008, and the next major stone on the path is The Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. But while Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier have all built to the second Avengers movie, this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy is looking beyond that.

Director James Gunn told Entertainment Weekly (via Comic Book Movie) that the movie is "definitely connected to Avengers 3." He doesn't say much beyond that, but given the characters' histories, it seems all but certain that the third installment would feature Thanos as its main villain with the Infinity Gauntlet as the focus.

Gunn also provided some more details about the characters in Guardians of the Galaxy. On Chris Pratt's Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, he said, "he 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."

He added, "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."

MTV posted the first official clip of the movie earlier this week, which you can viewe here. It features Star-Lord in action and gives fans a taste of what he can do.

What do you think? How will Guardians of the Galaxy connect to The Avengers 3? Let us know your guesses in the comments below.