However, those two films have ultimately proven vital to the rest of the MCU because they planted major seeds for the storyline of Thanos and the Infinity Stones to play out in the next Avengers movie.
This is not something that James Gunn really needed to concern himself with when developing the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films.
Marvel has played the long game with Star-Lord and his team of anti-heroes, and it’s clear that they are about to become far more important for the MCU as a whole.
Until now, the cosmic band of Marvel misfits was relatively insulated from Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and the rest of The Avengers, and their actual connection to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was tenuous at best.