What's next for the Guardians Of The Galaxy?
Vol. 3 hints at the team's future—and there are some big changes in store
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Have we all had time to decompress after Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3? How are we feeling? Good? You probably shouldn’t be, considering James Gunn’s final MCU film was harrowing. Who would’ve guessed that the adorable, smart-mouthed not a raccoon was hiding a deeply painful backstory? For real, though, the surprise wasn’t that Rocket’s tale was so grim—the Guardians films always hinted that it was pretty fucking bad. The real surprise was the unflinching way Gunn documented that backstory. If you were expecting a sanitized take on animal torture (because, come on, that always had to be part of Rocket’s story, no matter how much we hoped it wouldn’t be), too bad for you, because Vol. 3 gets up and close and personal with exactly what happened to him. At least no one died though, right? (Well, none of the main team, anyway. RIP Floor. And Teefs. And—yikes—Lylla.) Let’s get into what the film’s ending means for the future of the franchise.
Where does Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 leave the team?
Nebula is the new leader of Knowhere, and Drax is helping all the refugees resettle. Gamora is back with the Ravagers. Mantis is off on a soul-searching journey. Rocket is leading a new version of the Guardians, with Groot as one of the members of the team.
And, finally, former Guardians of the Galaxy leader Star-Lord is kicking it on Earth with his grandpa, gossiping about his layabout neighbors. It’s actually a decent look for him—much preferable to his unwelcome pining for a Gamora that, as the current Gamora reminds him with extremely warranted increasing irritation, no longer exists. The post-credits scene promises that “The Legendary Star-Lord will return.” Whether you find that ominous or exciting depends entirely on how you feel about Chris Pratt.