While it’s true that the third installment of Guardians of the Galaxy brings to a close for the time being the adventures of the galaxy’s most heartfelt baddies, that doesn’t mean the Guardians are finished. The galaxy is full of dangers and threats that, let’s face it, even with the Fantastic Four on the horizon and the constant rumors of the X-Men to come won’t be enough to keep them at bay. The galaxy needs its guardians and we see no way Marvel Studios is going to let their biggest defenders go, not when they’re the only ones that seem to keep working for them exactly as they expect.
That’s why, now without James Gunn, we have to think about other Guardians of the Galaxy. In the possibilities for both the group and its characters to appear in their own films to extend their legacy. In addition to their box office success. That’s why it’s important to stress that from here on out it’s all lucubrations of what could be, but also that this article has the occasional spoiler that anyone who hasn’t seen the third installment of the saga might not want to know about. That said, let’s dive into the different possibilities offered by our favorite heroes on this side of the galaxy, but beyond this side of the ozone layer.
The new Guardians of the Galaxy
While it’s true that the last film ends with the Guardians parting ways, with Rocket remaining as the new leader of the group, that doesn’t mean they cease to exist. In the mid-credits scene we are shown the new members of the Guardians, which in addition to Rocket and an adult Groot, also include Cosmo, Kraglin, Adam Warlock, Phyla-Vell and Warlock’s pet, Blurp. Even obviating that Blurp deserves his own movie, animated series, toy line and successful run for president of the United States, the movie itself already invites us to believe that therein lies the future of the Guardians. They appear in a mid-credits scene. They have a new mission. There is a mix of new and old faces. There’s even an adorable mascot. They have an easy time moving on.
The problem is the one they had before. How to continue after James Gunn? Comparisons are odious, but it’s Guardians of the Galaxy. They are going to be compared. Finding a director with as much personality as Gunn will prove difficult, and while it’s possible to conceive of this lineup of Guardians as even more successful and charismatic than the last, it’s hard to conceive of what director can work right now with Marvel Studios to live up to what Gunn did with the previous iteration of the group.
A very legal Mantis
Although she has been gaining dramatic weight, Mantis is not the most developed character among the Guardians in the films. Based on being an empath who does not understand the others and an expert fighter, but who is not at the level of the others, she remains halfway between the comic role that is sought to give her in the film and the role of advisor that she has in the comics. On the other hand, considering that in the comics she originally started out as a racist Asian stereotype and only later became a sort of mediator between all the other characters in the group, it is to be welcomed that Gunn decided to make abrupt changes to the character.
The problem is that, if as Pom Klementieff, actress who plays Mantis, says, no one can write Mantis the way Gunn does, it’s because it feels like the character is still missing something to finish having a personality of her own beyond the two distinctive traits she has. But therein lies the potential for a spinoff. With the third installment ending and going on a journey of self-discovery, Marvel Studios has it easy: they should make a series or movie that’s a chick-flick parody. If they’ve ever come close to having their own Bridget Jones or A Very Legal Blonde it’s by taking advantage of Mantis and putting her in a context where she has to learn to relate to other humans who are unwilling to understand her. And that, with her kindness and empathy, she ends up winning them over. A story that perhaps Guardians of the Galaxy fans think is not what they want, but it is exactly what they need.
Gamora and the Devastators
With Gamora there’s not even a question of what they should do. Gamora ends up going back to the Devastators and with them it should continue. This is the safest option to make a series or movie that feels like Guardians of the Galaxy, but has its own style and its own tone. Move away from the humor a bit, which can be provided by the sidekicks in the form of the Devastators being bumblers with funny oneliners, and focus on what the movies have always wanted to show us, but maybe haven’t always known how to show us: that Gamora is a professional assassin, but she’s also a woman with a heart of gold.
In that way, they have their second Mandalorian there. If a rule of the Devastators is that they don’t steal from other Devastators and they don’t traffic in children, that they have to run from other Devastators or have to protect one or more children is the easiest choice to build their own story around. They should make a story about criminals with hearts of gold looking for their place in space, making things better than governments that have abandoned their people. Something that feels like Guardians, but they can take on a more familiar form for Disney+ audiences.
The (new) old Guardians of the Galaxy
The first iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy was a half-hearted success in the comic. Vance Astro, Martinex T’Naga, Captain Charlie-27 and Yondu Udonta were characters that worked in the individual issues they appeared in, but not when they were given a collection of their own. Now, why not give them their own miniseries to see how they work?
The idea here is simple. Nostalgia. Yondu remembers something he’s never told you: the Guardians of the Galaxy existed long before he was born, Yondu being a part of them. Retro-styled, with papier-mâché sets, intergalactic threats in rubber costumes and practical special effects, it could be a series with a lot of charm if embraced from the shamelessness and the concept to be thought of: we’re in Yondu’s memories. Of course in his head it all happened in the most pulp, cheap and flattering way for him that we are able to imagine. And if we start from that premise, going back to ’69 Guardians of the Galaxy sounds like something that could be awesome.
The legendary Star-Lord
Now it’s time to put our feet on the ground. Disney and Marvel Studios take few risks, but they also tend to telegraph their intentions. They have already let us know that the Guardians are still with Rocket, but also, in the post-credits scene, we have learned about Peter Quill. Because the movie ends by telling us, explicitly, that “The legendary Star-Lord will return.”
So it is not bold to say that we can expect Star Lord’s return at one time or another. Chris Pratt is liked within Marvel and is credited with at least part of the franchise’s success, so it would be strange if we didn’t see him again. Especially when the post-credits scene itself tells us so. Whether it will be a movie, a series, or just some sort of special or cameo, remains to be seen. In any case, what does seem clear is that the Guardians of the Galaxy have a long run, if Marvel wants and knows how to exploit them without James Gunn at the controls, either with or without Peter Quill. Only time will tell if we will revisit space with the least heroic group of heroes in the galaxy.
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