Could the Annihilators Be in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

Minor spoilers for Avengers: Endgame up ahead! With Endgame out of the way, the last movie officially on the release slate for Marvel Studios is Spider-Man: Far From Home. After that, the future is uncertain — at least when it comes to speaking about official releases. We do know, however, that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is on the docket to be released at some point in the next two or three years.

Thanks to Thor (Chris Hemsworth) relinquishing his role as king of New Asgard to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), the Guardians seemingly have a new member among their ranks and it's something that'd substantially expand the cosmic corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the Asgardian heading to space with the Guardians, many fans think it will lead to the eventual introduction of Beta Ray Bill, a long-time supporting character of Thor's.

But we wanted to take it further and pose the question — could the Annihilators end up taking over the cosmic MCU reigns from the Guardians? Once upon a time, in a post-Annihilation and Realm of Kings Marvel Comics world, Beta Ray Bill joined the likes of Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Silver Surfer, Ronan the Accuser, Gladiator, and a spaceknight named Ikon. For a brief time, the team took the place of both the Guardians and Nova Corps in the pages of the comics mythos.

When it comes to the MCU, a single franchise has yet to receive four movies — and the Guardians of the Galaxy likely won't be different. With the story James Gunn has set to wrap up in the threequel, it's an ideal time for Marvel Studios to change things up on the cosmic front. That's why they could use Guardians 3 and Thor to introduce characters like Beta Ray Bill, Quasar — either Vaughn or Phyla-Vell — and some of those cosmic characters previously owned by Fox should time allow.

There are plenty of ways to introduce the characters; after all, the planets around the universe are sure to be beefing up their security in the wake of Thanos and his armies. Though he's not technically part of the Annihilators in the comics, it'd be another way to introduce Richard Rider's Nova to the MCU.

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are both now in theaters while Spider-Man: Far From Home swings to the silver screen on July 2nd.

Do you think the Annihilators could be joining the MCU? Which characters would you like to see in the group? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

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