When "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" hits theaters this May, Nebula will become a member of the team -- but that doesn't mean her relationship with her sister Gamora has been reconciled. Speaking to ComingSoon.net, director James Gunn weighed in on Nebula and Gamora's complex rapport and addressed why Thanos won't show up in the film despite the fact he's their "father."

"First of all, it’s about two sisters," Gunn explained. "It’s not about the sisters and their father. It’s about two sisters and what were the sisters’ problems with each other. And yeah, 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."

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"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 want to do it this time. And again the relationship with Thanos has nothing to do with it," he shared. "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 in the past that affects our characters presently. Same thing with Rocket," he added. "Rocket’s past is very important to the present story, but it’s not about how it affects him, it’s about how it affects his relationship with the other Guardians."

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In the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie, Gamora was introduced as Thanos' "favorite daughter." Though she isn't related to Thanos by blood, she was raised by him; he took her into his care after he wiped out the rest of her race. When she realized he wanted to use his power to kill even more, she defected and became one of the Guardians of the Galaxy through her mission to track down the Infinity Stone that Thanos was after. Though her background was never explained in depth, Nebula likely had a similar experience but didn't leave Thanos until her own life was at stake -- and certainly not before she went toe-to-toe with her sister Gamora. It is unclear what circumstances will reunite the sisters.

Opening May 5, 2017, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Glenn Close, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki and Kurt Russell.