Guardians of the Galaxy 3’s credits scenes are a mundane mystery

James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy may have come to a close, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe rolls on. And just like in Marvel Comics, that means the story of the Guardians hasn’t come to an end; even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hints at a continuation in its credits scenes. Let’s break down everything we know about where we’ll see the Guardians next, even if it’s not much yet.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.]

Image: Marvel Studios

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has two credits scenes, one in the middle of the credits, and the other at the very tail end. The first is all about the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the other is about their departed founder, Chris Pratt’s character Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.

The new Guardians of the Galaxy

The end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 changes up the Guardians roster, as some characters go off to find themselves, or get back to their non-Guardians lives, and others stick around to do all the Guarding. This scene clues us in to an almost entirely new Guardians roster that includes Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Groot (Vin Diesel), Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), and one of the High Evolutionary’s “evolved” children, with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn) as the group’s new leader.

They’re on an unknown planet, protecting some unknown settlers from a stampede of unknown beasts, but just before they do, Rocket pulls up the Zune Peter deeded to him, and in a sweet nod back to the movie that started it all, he puts on “Come and Get Your Love,” from Redbone’s 1973 album Wovoka.

Will we see this version of the Guardians of the Galaxy again? Nobody knows! At least nobody outside the halls of Marvel Studios. But the actual credits (you know, the things that run between the credits scenes) have a bit of an Easter egg for comics nerds, referring to the new team’s kid member as Phyla.

In Marvel Comics, Phyla-Vell is … look. It’s complicated, but you can think of her as part of a loose family of space adventurers related to the first Captain Marvel, a Kree warrior named Mar-Vell.

Does this mean Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just debuted a whole new Marvel superhero into the MCU? That’s unclear — Phyla-Vell’s comic book origin doesn’t have anything to do with the High Evolutionary or the Guardians of the Galaxy. But whether it’s the first steps of Phyla-Vell’s story in the MCU, or just a character named Phyla, nerds will notice.

Image: Marvel Studios

The legendary Star-Lord will return

Wait all the way to the end of the credits, and you’ll get Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s clearer point about the future of the MCU. We go back to Peter Quill, who has apparently settled in with his granddad comfortably enough that they’re eating breakfast cereal and commiserating about the neighbors’ lawn-mowing habits. A severely mundane moment is humorously juxtaposed with a title card claiming “The legendary Star-Lord will return.”

But where? Marvel has no officially announced plans that include Star-Lord or Chris Pratt, and there aren’t really any upcoming MCU projects that feel like a shoe-in for him — at least not until 2025’s Avengers: Kang Dynasty.

Does Marvel have a Star-Lord Disney Plus series or solo film up its sleeve? Are they planning for future cameos to boost other movies or series? It’s possible. But we’ll have to wait for an official announcement to be sure.