Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's New Guardians Team Explained
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (spoilers) ends on a bittersweet note of transition: the old Guardians of the Galaxy team we know from a trilogy of films disbanded, and a new team rose in its place. The Guardians of the Galaxy 3 post-credits scene didn't explain much about the new team status quo, but it did give us enough of a tease for Marvel fans to already be forming some interesting theories or speculation.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's New Guardians Team Explained
Guardians of the Galaxy 3's mid-credits scene reveals Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) leading a new team of Guardians that includes Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), High Evolutionary's child experiment Phyla-Vell (Kai Zen), and Adam's pet alien Blurp.
The new team is hanging out on a planet where the populace is being threatened by an oncoming horde of ravenous beasts – but Rocket and co. are calm as can be, sharing a friendly debate about what music to play for the upcoming battle. Rocket ultimately decides on a tune that has deep meaning: "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone – the same song Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) was listening to during the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 1). With the right song motivating them, the New Guardians of the Galaxy leap into action.
Will There Be Guardians of the Galaxy 4?
This is the big question that now hangs over this part of the franchise. James Gunn has made it clear that he is done and moving on from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Guardians franchise – and there are a fair amount of cast members in his roster that have said they are moving on with him (Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista). However, the Guardians of the Galaxy belongs to Marvel, and thanks to Gunn and Co. it's become a lucrative part of the larger Disney/Marvel empire (merchandising, games, theme park attractions, etc.). It doesn't seem like the sentiment surrounding James Gunn's trilogy will keep Marvel Studios from utilizing these characters (see: Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame, Thor: Love & Thunder).
In that sense, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 seems like it's as inevitable as Thanos. Or does it? Fans have such a strong attachment to that title and its association with James Gunn that Marvel could find a way to sidestep the issue in the future. Instead of a straight sequel (Guardians of the Galaxy 4), there's speculation that Marvel could simply go with a rebooted title ("New Guardians of the Galaxy"), or simply include Rocket's team of Guardians in an event film of a different title (Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Secret Wars, The Marvels).
There's also speculation that Rocket's team could take on the name "The Annihilators" in a re-brand move: That team was formed by Cosmo (after Star-Lord's death) and took on the mission of preventing galactic threats before they arose. Sounds like something Rocket and Co. could get up to – and a perfect landing spot for some other cosmic characters that could be on the way.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theaters.