The future of Star-Lord and the Guardians is real – we just don’t know what is
James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy may be over, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues. And just like in Marvel Comics, it means the story of the Guardians doesn’t come to an end; even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hints at a sequel in its credits scenes. Let’s break down everything we know about where we’ll see Guardians next, even if it’s not much yet.
(Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.)
Picture: Marvel Studios
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has two credits scenes, one in the middle of the credits and the other at the very end. The first is about the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the other is about their deceased founder, Chris Pratt’s character, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.
The new Guardians of the Galaxy
The end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 changes the Guardian roster, as some characters leave to reunite or return to their non-Guardian lives, and others stay to do all the Guardianship. This scene gives us clues to an almost entirely new roster of Guardians that includes Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Groot (Vin Diesel), Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), and one of the “evolved” children of High Evolutionary, with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn) as the new leader of the group.
They’re on an unknown planet, protecting unknown colonists from a rush of unknown beasts, but just before they do, Rocket pulls out the Zune that Peter gave him, and in a sweet nod to the movie that started it all, he put on “Come and Get Your Love”, from Redbone’s 1973 album Wake up.
Will we see this version of Guardians of the Galaxy again? Nobody knows! At least no one outside the halls of Marvel Studios. But the actual credits (you know, the stuff that happens between the credits scenes) has a bit of an easter egg for comic book nerds, referring to the child member of the new team as Phyla.
In Marvel Comics, Phyla-Vell is…look. It’s complicated, but you can think of her as part of a loose family of space adventurers related to the first Captain Marvel, a Kree warrior named Mar-Vell.
Does that mean Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just debuted a brand new Marvel superhero in the MCU? It’s not clear – Phyla-Vell’s comic book origin has nothing to do with High Evolutionary or the Guardians of the Galaxy. But whether it’s Phyla-Vell’s early history in the MCU, or just a character named Phyla, nerds will take notice.
Picture: Marvel Studios
The legendary Star-Lord will return
Wait until the end of the credits and you will get Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3a clearer point about the future of the MCU. We return to Peter Quill, who has apparently gotten comfortable enough with his grandfather that they eat cereal for breakfast and complain about the neighbors’ lawn mowing habits. An extremely mundane moment is humorously juxtaposed with a title card claiming “the legendary Star-Lord will return.”
But where? Marvel doesn’t have any officially announced plans that include Star-Lord or Chris Pratt, and there aren’t really any upcoming MCU projects that seem like a shoestring to it – at least not until 2025. Avengers: Kang Dynasty.
Does Marvel have a Star-Lord Disney Plus series or solo movie up its sleeve? Are they planning future cameos to boost other films or series? It’s possible. But we will have to wait for an official announcement to be sure.
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