Note: Light spoilers ahead for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” may mark the end of the Guardians as we know them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t continuing on. In fact, the film’s post-credits tag makes it explicitly clear that “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return.” Now, you might be wondering if the word “legendary” signifies something important, or maybe someone new — and those instincts would be right.
The good news is “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” doesn’t actually kill off any of the Guardians, as many expected it to. There were a few scares between Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), but ultimately, they all survived. That said, they did kind of break up.
The end of the film sees the original Guardians go in several different directions. Peter heads back to Earth to find his grandpa; Mantis leaves simply in an effort to find some independence and get to know herself as an individual; Gamora goes back to her new Ravager family; Nebula and Drax basically become the co-presidents of Knowhere; and Rocket takes over as Guardians team leader, working alongside the new members.
All that said, Quill is the only one the movie explicitly confirmed will return. And yes, he’s “the legendary Star-Lord” now, but for the record, that moniker still refers to Peter Quill, not anyone else.
“The Legendary Star-Lord” is actually the name of a short-lived comic run written by Sam Humphries with art by Paco Medina, released in 2015. It followed Quill and his adventures after he left the Guardians of the Galaxy.
So, that post-credits tag seemingly indicates that we will see more of Pratt’s Star-Lord, even in an MCU without James Gunn, just without his cohorts. Given where he ended up at the end of the film, odds are pretty decent that future appearances will find him figuring out life on Earth.
