Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 epitomizes the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in one very big way: it provides no direct connections nor references to any other current MCU story.

Considering most of the live-action members of the cast are done with the franchise after this movie, that's not an inappropriate way to do it. This movie is the swan song for this iteration of this team of heroes, and so it makes sense they would want to focus on their story over that of the rest of the franchise.

But it's still pretty frustrating. Just as it has been frustrating to watch most of the rest of the MCU's shows and movies exist in their own separate bubbles the last couple years. But while the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 doesn't directly hook into any other ongoing stories right now, it certainly could be setting up some major storylines in the long term--like three or four years from now, or sooner