Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 May Have Had a the Simpsons Easter Egg

At the core of the series, Guardians of the Galaxy is really about finding and establishing family. One clever fan on Reddit found a deep-cut reference that makes sense of some of Peter Quill's ideas about his father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Some real comedy gets extracted from Star-Lord talking about David Hasselhoff with Gamora. She mixes up the famous actor's stint on Knight Rider with a magic boat, and what looked like a weird riff on 80s television shows (Airwolf anyone?) actually might have roots in The Simpsons.

In the 13th episode of Season 6, "And Maggie Makes Three", The Simpsons introduces the family watching a show called Knight Boat: The Crime Solving Boat. A killer joke about the plot conveniences that occur in shows like Knight Rider or The Dukes of Hazard ensues and the show briskly moves on in its trademark style. It would be easy to say it is a happy coincidence but The Simpson manages to seep its way into many different cultural moments without the author's intent in the past.

Might have just found another Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 easter egg...Knightboat! from r/marvelstudios

One thing is for sure, both Guardians of the Galaxy movies are still connecting with audiences even now. Those parental moments tug at the heartstrings of the fans and even the people involved in making the film. James Gunn responded to a note about Volume 2 on Twitter over the Summer. Filmthusiast was talking about how Chris Pratt was able to come to terms with the death of his father while reading the script.

"The truth is I ripped open some wounds that had been healing for some time. And I didn't want to," Pratt said to British GQ about working on the film in the wake of loss. "But I knew it was right for the moment… There are wounds that are never going to be totally healed. It would probably make for a better story if it was some emotional thing that I hadn't dealt with… When we face the death of a parent, you sometimes feel regret that you didn't fully embrace what you had."

Gunn then quote tweeted the clip from the climax of Vol. 2 between Ego and Star-Lord with his own story about what the movie meant to him. It turns out the family dynamic is no accident. Those themes about family and sacrifice are weaved into every scene because of his relationship with his parents.

He wrote, "One of the great joys of my life was standing on stage at the premiere of GotG Vol 2 & having my Mom & Dad stand up as I dedicated the films to them. Vol 1 is about a mother's love for her son. Vol 2 is about a father's. With my Dad's passing 3 weeks ago, it means even more."

There probably won't be any magic boats in Volume 3, but you can bet it will be an emotional ride.