‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Post-Credits Scenes Affect the MCU – Variety

Brake alert: This story discusses major plot developments and post-credits scenes in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” currently playing in theaters.

At this point, it’s no secret that Marvel Studios has lost some of its luster in the post-“Avengers: Endgame” era. Between the rapid expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+ and the exits of stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and the late Chadwick Boseman, the Marvel saga often felt like too much and not enough at once: expanse without a center.

It’s a problem that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 isn’t particularly equipped to tackle. For one, the movie is completely separate from everything else that’s happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after “Endgame” — there’s no whisper of Kang, the multiverse, the incursions, the Talokan, or hilariously Thor, though the Guardians did make a special appearance in “Thor.” : Love and Thunder” last summer. On the other hand, the Watchmen themselves – at least, as audiences have grown to know and love them – are also leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe, between stars Zoe Saldaña and Dave Bautista. clarification they I finish With their respective roles, writer-director James Gunn left Marvel to co-run DC Studios with Peter Safran.

These are, to be clear, great assets for the movie itself, imbuing “Vol. 3” with a sense of creative freedom and gloom that Marvel titles rarely enjoyed. And in fairness, the movie doesn’t quite capture the vigilante either. In the first post-credits scene, the audience sees Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) step in as the new leaders of the reconfigured Guardians: Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), and Kraglin (Sean Gunn). ), Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova) and the newest addition, Phyla (Kai Zen), one of the genetically enhanced children the Guardians rescue from the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). (Phyla is also the name of a Marvel comic character who was part of the Guardians, but her backstory is the same radically different of the movie character.)

Even Peter Quill got his own shaggy scene after the credits after reuniting with his human grandfather (Greg Henry) back on Earth, where they joke about cereal and why the neighbor’s son doesn’t mow the lawn for it, followed by a sign that “the legendary star will be back.” “.

As charming as both scenes are, in reality they could only contribute to a looming headache for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the past 21 months, Marvel has used their trademark post-scenes to tease up to six – or more! Upcoming movies. they:

• Sequel – or sequel! – to “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” involving the titular hero (Simu Liu), the extraterrestrial origins of his titular rings and/or a remake of the titular outlaw gang The Ten Rings by Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing ( Menger Chang).

• A sequel to the movie “Eternals” which includes Starfox (Harry Styles) helping Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan) and Thena (Angelina Jolie) to save their fellow citizens from judgment by the Celestial Arishem.

• A sequel to “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” that includes Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) partnering with the wizard Clea (Charlize Theron) to fix an incursion into the Dark Dimension.

• The sequel to “Thor: Love and Thunder” which includes Zeus (Russell Crowe) sending his son Hercules (Brett Goldstein) to kill Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

• A sequel to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” that features Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) contending with the revelation that the late T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) had a son and rightful heir to the kingdom of Wakanda.

• And now, the sequel – or the sequel! – to “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” which includes the newly reassembled titular Guardians and/or Star-Lord’s exploits after his return to his family on Earth.

None of these highly anticipated feature films has been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios, nor have there been any solid reports of future creative impetus for any of them. However, Marvel has never been a studio that delivers on idle promise. Why put up with all of Styles, Theron, and Goldstein’s secret hiring woes for just 90 seconds? For that matter, why foretell the secret of the Shang-Chi rings, or the potential of T’Challa’s noble bloodline, if you’re never going to pay for it? Why does “Guardians Vol. 3” end with the tagline “The Legendary Star Returns” if, you know, it won’t?

Here’s where things get tricky: Marvel boss Kevin Feige has made it clear that “Avengers: Secret Wars” will conclude the Multiverse saga the same way “Avengers: Endgame” ended the Infinity saga — and so far, there’s only three Open release dates for Marvel properties before “Secret Wars” are set to premiere on May 1, 2026. (These dates are July 25, 2025, November 26, 2025, and February 13, 2026.)

Of course, some of the aforementioned “sequels” could end up set to the events of Secret Wars and its predecessor, 2025’s “Avengers: Kang Dynasty.” Others might become part of the Disney+ show, instead. But the overall effect remains pretty excessive, like a child who keeps stacking a tower of toy blocks without worrying whether it might eventually collapse. With “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” almost certain to lose money, and superheroes exhausting at the box office in general, Marvel had better hope they could borrow a lyric from the first soundtrack for “Guardians,” which would become Things are easier – and so on.