Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 gives Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord a brand-new status quo in its aftermath, teasing a dynamic return with an expanded name. As such, speculation has already begun regarding Peter Quill’s future going forward in the MCU. While Star-Lord himself confirms that the “galaxy will always need its Guardians”, it certainly looks as though he’s passed the torch on to a new team of heroes. That being said, Chris Pratt doesn’t seem to be done with Star-Lord and the MCU just yet.
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene, a new team of Guardians has been formed after Quill made Rocket Raccoon the team’s new captain. Choosing to stop running from his past, Peter Quill finally returns to Earth to reunite with his grandfather Jason. Likewise, the second post-credits scene ends with an exciting tag card that teases a brand-new future for Quill. Here’s what it could mean for Chris Pratt and the potential for Star-Lord getting his own MCU movie.
GOTG 3’s Credits Scene Sets Up Chris Pratt’s Legendary Star-Lord Return
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s first post-credits scene revealed Rocket and Groot’s new Guardians team consisting of Kraglin, Cosmo, Blurp, Adam Warlock, and the surprise reveal of Phyla. However, the second post-credits scene featured a more humorous conversation between Peter and his grandfather over breakfast before the tag: “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return”. Not only is this a call back to how Quill introduced himself in the first Guardians movie, but it’s also a reference to the solo comic of the same name from Sam Humphries and Paco Medina. As such, the confirmation that Star-Lord will return is very exciting.
While the promise of a return is great, it’s currently unknown exactly when or how Chris Pratt will return as the “Legendary Star-Lord”. The predominant hope would be that Star-Lord will eventually get his own movie in the MCU, but he could also appear in another hero or team’s movie as well. Either way, it’s good that Quill’s journey isn’t over, even if his time leading the Guardians has officially ended by the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
What A Star-Lord MCU Movie Could Be About
In The Legendary Star-Lord comic from 2015, Peter Quill ventures out on his own to initially embark on a personal vendetta to face Thanos. However, it also sees Star-Lord getting his own smaller ship named The Bad Boy while continuing his relationship with the X-Men’s Kitty Pryde. Near the end of the solo series and its connected issues to other comics, Quill proposed to Kitty following a Guardians/X-Men team-up. Although she said yes, future issues saw their relationship coming to an end, largely due to Peter Quill becoming the temporary ruler of the Spartax Empire as well as secrets Quill had been keeping from the rest of the Guardians.
If the MCU was to use any of The Legendary Star-Lord comic series as inspirational source material, there’s some key potential in Star-Lord traveling outside a greater team of Guardians. Additionally, it would also be great if Star-Lord was able to find someone he cares about whether it’s the MCU’s Kitty Pryde with the upcoming debut of the X-Men or someone similar. Now that Peter has reconciled with the past version of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the hope would be that he could move on and find love again.
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Star-Lord’s GOTG 3 Ending Sets Up Chris Pratt’s Return For Avengers 5 & 6
It’s also worth noting that Star-Lord is now perfectly primed to have appearances in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. While it would certainly seem like a waste if the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 return tease was simply put in to save Chris Pratt for the future crossovers respectively slated for 2025 and 2026, it is a possibility. Regardless, the hope from Marvel Studios would likely be to have crossover films as big as Infinity War and Endgame, meaning that it’s all hands on deck for as many heroes as possible.
The plots of the fifth and sixth Avengers films have yet to be confirmed beyond what can be gleaned from their titles. Kang the Conqueror will obviously be involved in the fifth movie and multiversal chaos will likely ensue in the sixth with a possible universe reboot (just like in the comics’ Secret Wars). As such, there’s no telling what Star-Lord’s involvement might look like, though it would be exciting to see him taking on a bigger role, redeeming himself after losing his temper with Thanos in Infinity War, something Star-Lord admits was problematic in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
How Else Star-Lord Could Return In The MCU
Beyond his own solo movie and/or being saved for Avengers crossovers, there are other avenues for Star-Lord’s return to the MCU. Firstly, Peter Quill could always return to assist the new Guardians of the Galaxy in a future movie (while not becoming a recurring member of the team). While perhaps unlikely, The Legendary Star-Lord could also become something like a 6-episode series on Disney+, allowing Quill to go on solo adventures, providing a dedicated personal arc for Quill in the MCU. That being said, a possible project with the most dynamic potential would be to pair Star-Lord with a brand-new hero like Nova.
Having been considered by Marvel Studios ever since the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie and its debut of the Nova Corps, a project starring Richard Rider and/or Sam Alexander would be very exciting, showing how the Nova Corps’ recruits from Earth entered the greater universe as galactic heroes. Considering Star-Lord’s friendship with Rider in the comics, a buddy-space movie titled “Nova and the Legendary Star-Lord” has a nice ring to it. However, Star-Lord could also serve as a mentor figure if Marvel wants to use the younger Sam Alexander instead. Regardless, there’s clearly a lot of potential for Star-Lord’s teased (and legendary) future following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Source: screenrant.com