Maintaining a cinematic universe for any franchise isn’t as easygoing as it is for fans to sit back and watch the action. The craft of such a challenge lies in one teeny, tiny thing. Continuity.
Every detail, every thread of history in the fictional world presented by the writers and directors must be noted and taken into consideration. Consistency brings a solid story. Therefore when creating a cinematic universe, in which different films (not only sequels) feed off each other, consistency is all the more important.
That said, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn revealed that he’s not yet had to deal with continuity.
The director recently engaged in a question/answer spree on twitter regarding Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. One fan asked about the continuity of the film in the MCU, and Gunn explained it doesn’t really exist:
Gunn wrote “I’m so out in space unconnected at this point, outside of Thanos in Vol 1, I’ve never had to deal with even a single moment of continuity.”
In the grand scheme of things, Guardians of the Galaxy dealt with Marvel’s intergalactic affairs, involving Thanos and his search for the infinity stones. It didn’t need to show an awareness of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
But when Avengers: Infinity War arrives, Guardians of the Galaxy’s continuity will very much coincide with the rest of the MCU. Gunn has presumably not had to deal with continuity because, thus far, he’s been dealing with a whole new playing field. He really has no limits, and after Dr Strange introduced the idea of a Multi-verse to the MCU, Gunn’s Guardians could be getting even more weird and wonderful.
Needless to say, the further into the MCU we get (time wise), the more important continuity will be. There is one element of Gunn’s comment I personally will cling to, which is that a lack of regard to continuity (so far) may enable the complete and utter disappearance of Howard the Duck from the MCU, forever. Seriously… like, in every way.
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/806191575403556865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrives May 5th, 2017.