The third Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the finest films Marvel’s produced since… ever? I laughed, I cried, I gasped, etc. etc. etc. And while going out on a high note is always strong advice, it’s one I absolutely implore Marvel to heed after this brilliant trilogy-ender. But, of course, based on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s two credits scenes, the studio likely won’t be doing that.
(Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 below.)
The first of Guardians 3’s credits scenes takes place halfway through the very long list of names. This one stars Rocket Raccoon (magnificently voiced by Bradley Cooper), who spent most of the film comatose on his death bed; instead, we enjoyed flashbacks to his horribly traumatic childhood, during which he and his other animal friends were manipulated and abused by a mad scientist known only as the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).
Now that Rocket’s back in action, thanks to his pals retrieving the necessary tools to revive him, he’s taken over for the Guardians troupe. (De facto leader Star-Lord, a.k.a. Peter Quill, a.k.a. Chris Pratt, has bailed on the team to reunite with his family back on Earth, leaving Rocket in charge.)
That new crew, as we see in this mid-credits scene, includes some faces familiar and some that are less-so. There’s good ol’ Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), now an adult again; Cosmo the talking spacedog, a perfect, wonderful good boy (voiced by a perfect, wonderful good woman Maria Bakalova); and Kraglin (Sean Gunn), a foe-turned-friend of the OG Guardians crew and Cosmo’s best frenemy. We also meet Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), an overpowered, gold-plated, very childlike being, along with his pet, Blurp.
Then there’s Phyla-Vell (Kai Zen), one of the young girls the Guardians rescued after defeating the High Evolutionary, Rocket’s one-time captor that went on to trap and experiment countless other species. She isn’t explicitly named in the movie, but she does get a shoutout in the credits. Comic book fans will recognize the name and know that Phyla’s a big deal, even if this one scene doesn’t give her too much depth. The rest of us will appreciate her mainstream, teen-girl music taste.
These characters are all Guardians in the various comic book series, so canonically speaking, the new formation makes sense. And it’s a cute scene—we’re happy to see giant nerd Rocket have new friends, whose music tastes he immediately grills and then judges based on their coolness factor. They’re already raring to go on some new adventures, and I’m truly happy for them.
Then, an eternity later, we see the after-credits scene: a quick check-in with Peter. He’s hanging with his grandpa (Gregg Henry in old-man makeup) for the first time in decades, eating cereal at the kitchen table. It’s a small-town life that a title card promises won’t go on forever: Star-Lord will return.
That’s not surprising, nor is the fact that Marvel introduced its entire new Guardians crew during the credits. These characters came out of nowhere to accrue a huge fanbase of their own, one which Marvel would be silly to let go of. Yet with director James Gunn—the man whom Marvel briefly fired in 2018 over old tweets, only for the cast to successfully protest his reinstatement—splitting to take over the DC Cinematic Universe, Guardians of the Galaxy will never be the same again in any sense.
As much as we love Rocket, Groot, Peter, Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and especially Cosmo, it’s time to put their stories to rest. Yes, they should absolutely make guest appearances in future MCU movies. Star-Lord should not just go away forever, living a peaceful life in some random town. He’s a superhero! And one of the funnier, more interesting ones! And if I really must, I will obviously take 700 new Guardians movies from random-ass directors over a single Eternals sequel.
But Gunn was a crucial element to the franchise’s success, as was the core makeup of that original group. Guardians’ ragtag chosen family, led by goofy, horny, tunes-loving Earthling Peter, was perfectly constructed. Rocket’s snark was a perfect complement for Drax’s sweetly naive lack of self-awareness, while Mantis was a kindly foil for the eternally angry Nebula.
From left: Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Karen Gillan as Nebula, and Pom Klementieff as Mantis.
Marvel StudiosMost of all, with the heartbreaking love story between Peter and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) seeing a mature conclusion in this third film, it feels wrong to try forcing new core drama into the fold. But love and relationships are so core to Guardians that to go without would also feel wrong, which is why it’s better to just… not have another. The crew’s individual personal tribulations—to feel loved; to feel seen; to feel useful—were all satisfied by this film’s intimate character work, which allowed each character to successfully find their real purpose. Let’s not sully that progress.
The emotional storytelling, second only to the similarly familial dynamic of the Avengers films, was perfectly accompanied by Gunn’s outlandish directorial style. He comes from a B-movie background, after all; his love of grotesque, over-the-top action, well-choreographed kills, and darkly comedic deaths helped Guardians stand out above the blurry action of the rest of the Marvel pack. There’s a gorgeously shot fight scene in this third entry that I’m still thinking about, which is Gunn at his best (and boundary-pushing by standard Marvel, uh, standards). I can’t imagine any of the MCU’s usual hired hands could ever film something quite like this cathartic full-crew kill rampage, which lets each character’s specific abilities shine through all the carnage.
There is zero chance that Gunn will ever return to make another Guardians film; DC would never allow that. And many members of the cast have expressed interest in moving on from the MCU onto other projects, now that the trilogy is complete. While I’ll miss a full two-hour-plus adventure with Rocket Raccoon, by far my favorite MCU character, he and the rest will be better served as cameo appearances, meant to delight us and remind us of the good times.
But, alas, Star-Lord will return. The new Guardians crew is assembled. Phase 5 is underway, and Phase 6 is in the planning stages. The MCU will trudge on to obligatory, repetitive places, and Guardians will drag along with it. No, there’s no Guardians 4 in the works yet—but there’s plenty of time for that to unfold. I’ll be watching those next Guardians projects, whatever they are, out of professional obligation. (A life on the Marvel beat is, in retrospect, not the life I would have chosen for myself, but alas.) But while I dread this Gunn-less, reassembled future for the series, at least I’ll always remember the good times.
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