With “Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3,” director and author James Gunn has now completed the “Guardians” trilogy for which he is responsible. Going forward, as head of DC Studios, he will be fully committed to the Marvel competition. But the third screen adventure of the outsider troupe around Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is not only the last MCU film for Gunn, but also seems like a grand farewell to the main characters themselves.
In fact, James Gunn has repeatedly emphasized that in advance that Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 will be the last movie where we will see the Guardians in their usual form. And if you now look at the ending including the credits scenes, it actually seems to be the case. Warning, of course there will be spoilers for the “Volume 3” ending!
Is Guardians Of The Galaxy 4 coming?
What was wildly speculated beforehand, which of the Guardians will bless time in the trilogy finale! However, after the film, we now know that James Gunn once again skillfully played with expectations and ultimately none of the troop die. And yet, in several places, the previous Guardians are given a moving farewell:
Leader Star-Lord gives up his Guardian career and eventually returns to Earth to his grandfather (Gregg Henry). His half-sister Mantis embarks on a journey of self-discovery with three tamed abilities. And alternate Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is reunited with the Ravagers (though like her late predecessor, she warms to the Guardians).
Still, the doors are wide open for another sequel, not only because all the main characters are still alive (albeit partially separated now), but also because we are already introduced to the new team composition in the mid-credits scene. Whether it stays with this teaser, whether it actually becomes a “Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 4” (by a new director) one day or whether we see the changed troupe in another MCU project, the future will tell.
Mid-credits scene: These are the new Guardians Of The Galaxy
The common journey of the previous Guardians has come to an end and yet some of them, along with a few newcomers, continue to provide law and order to the universe, as the opening credits scene suggests. Not only is a musical arc stretched to Star-Lord’s debut in the very first “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and it’s shown that he’s still part of the group in some way through the music he loves so much, even after his departure. The new team is also presented here, which is composed as follows:
- Rocket (voice: Bradley Cooper): After his near-death and heartbreaking Origin story, Rocket is now the new leader of the Guardians.
- Alpha Major (voice: Vincent Diesel): Groot – now bigger than ever as the so-called Alpha Groot – remains loyal to his best friend Rocket.
- Kraglin (Sean Gun): The ex-Ravager continues to support the Guardians, now more energetic than ever after mastering Yondu’s Death Arrow.
- Cosmo (voice: Maria Bakalova): The talking Soviet space dog leaves Knowhere behind and now also goes on field missions.
- Adam Wizard (Will Poulter): First sent to join the Guardians by his Sovereign Mother, he has now joined them after they saved his life.
- Phila Vell (Kai Zen): Phyla-Vell is one of the children rescued from the clutches of the High-Evolutionary by the Guardians. In the Marvel Comics, Phyla is the daughter of the first Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, who became a woman in the MCU and was played by Annette Bening in Captain Marvel.
The fact that Drax (Dave Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) aren’t in this round is likely due to the fact that they’re now mostly concerned with the Guardians HQ Knowhere, with Drax now likely years after the tragic loss of his daughter above all, a new father role for all rescued children.
Post-credits scene: Are Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax being recast?
In the second credits scene, we then experience how Star-Lord lives a very calm, normal life on Earth. And yet at the very end we get a solid promise via fade-in, which is a bit surprising after this ending: “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return.”
So it seems certain that even after the apparent conclusion of his story, Peter Quill will one day reappear in the MCU. However, that doesn’t necessarily have to be in a new film about the Guardians, which he now turns his back on. The fact that he’s now back on Earth suggests Peter could make a comeback in an upcoming Marvel adventure that doesn’t take place in space (although a long-term reunion with the Guardians can’t be ruled out, of course).
However, it’s still in the stars whether Chris Pratt will really slip back into the role he’s so heavily influenced. Because just because Star-Lord returns doesn’t necessarily apply to his actor. In an interview with FILMSTARTS, Pratt also revealed that he can imagine the character could be played by another actor in the future. Something similar was recently heard from Zoe Saldana, who even said very explicitly that “Guardians of the Universe Vol 3was her last Marvel movie, but still she would love to see Gamora – played by someone else – again.
That’s exactly what we could expect in the case of Drax, since Dave Bautista, not always happy with his Marvel work, hinted a while ago that this will also be the last time he plays his role. So if these characters return, it’s not unlikely, especially in the case of Gamora and Drax, that they’ll be recast. How their fans would take that is another matter.
But it may be certain that we have not seen the Guardians and/or individual (former) members for the last time, despite the (preliminary) conclusion in “Guardians Of The Galaxy 3”.even though they are now partly involved in different projects and some of them might look different in their next appearance because of different artists.