Spoiler Alert: Spoilers Ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was recently released to excellent reviews. But unfortunately, it will probably be the last time we see these Guardians together. James Gunn has set off to helm the DCU. Zoe Saldaña is looking to break away from her role as Gamora. Chris Pratt is up for more Star-Lord, but most other stars were uncertain if they would return without Gunn in the director’s chair.
Vol. 3 left us looking at a brand-new Guardians of the Galaxy. Star-Lord made Rocket Raccoon the new leader of his group of rag-tag superheroes, and Rocket wasted no time in assembling a team. These new Guardians of the Galaxy are some heroes you may have never heard of and represent some uncharted territory for the super-team. They’ve never been assembled before either on screen or in Marvel Comics, but Rocket, Groot, Phyla, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, and Cosmo could hold an exciting future for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Post-Credits Scene
Going into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, most people were already aware that this would be the last Guardians movie in the MCU. The IP had always been James Gunn’s baby, and everyone was aware that the filmmaker had recently switched camps to lead DC. Zoe Saldaña had recently expressed her desire to get out of all the franchise filmmaking she was caught up in. And Dave Bautista has been talking about moving into more dramatic roles. But judging by the two end credits scenes, there are a lot of possibilities for Marvel to go further with Guardians of the Galaxy.
While there are currently no plans for Vol. 4, all the necessary pieces have been put into place. In the mid-credits scene, Rocket Racoon is seen leading this new team of Guardians as they help a race of terrified alien civilians. So we know for certain they’re out there somewhere, living in the floating head of Knowhere, protecting the galaxy. We can probably expect to see them in this Marvel cycle’s big conclusion Avengers: Secret Wars. But will we see them before then?
The final line of text in the film tells everyone that “The Legendary Star-Lord will return.” But nothing was about Rocket and his Guardians. There are a lot of untitled movie slots in Marvel’s Phase 6 that surround The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. There are even rumors of these new Guardians being adapted into a Disney+ miniseries. James Gunn said he almost made a Rocket and Groot spinoff series instead of Guardians Vol. 3.
Of course, Gunn exiting Marvel puts the future of the Guardians in doubt. But despite the lack of information on any future Guardians continuity, the franchise still has several key heroes who are important to the overall Marvel canon. Characters like Adam Warlock and Phyla point a very specific spotlight on the Guardians of the Galaxy. And there will be important roles for them to play in the future. So even if there isn’t a Vol. 4, we’re almost guaranteed to see the Guardians again.
The New Guardians of the Galaxy
Disney
The two most famous iterations of the Guardians of the Galaxy are the original team we saw put together in the MCU and a more recent version in a comic book run by Brian Michael Bendis made up of Rocket, Groot, Drax, Venom, the Thing and Kitty Pryde. The team we saw at the end of Vol. 3 was a little different with Kraglin, Phyla, Adam Warlock, and Cosmo, along with Rocket and Groot. Despite these not being the most familiar names, these characters are, on the whole, significantly more powerful than the previous teammates.
Adam Warlock eventually becomes the avatar of the cosmic entity Life. In the comics, he also carries an infinity stone, but it’s unlikely Marvel will bring those back. In a certain timeline, Warlock turns evil and, calling himself Magus, has a reality-bending fight with Phyla. Phyla herself is quite a powerful player. Along with becoming the new Captain Marvel at one point, she becomes the avatar of Oblivion, making her one of the deadliest beings in the Marvel universe.
As the MCU moves forward with its Multiverse Saga, a lot of powerful cosmic entities are bound to come into play, and, at least in the comics, these are two extremely key figures when dealing with multiversal forces. At the moment, it’s unclear exactly what Phyla’s role will be in the future of the MCU. They may have cast her so young so that she would have a bigger role down the line. And it’s possible Gunn may have rewritten her history a little bit with the High Evolutionary. But she and Adam Warlock are, at least in theory, essential to the overarching Marvel narrative. We’ll have to wait to see what Kevin Feige has in store for them.