Spoiler Alert: Spoilers Ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 end credits scene ended with those fateful words that Star-Lord “will return.” But some fans aren’t so sure. Star-Lord was last seen at his grandfather’s house discussing his frustration with doing mundane chores. Peter Quill has gone from battling evil around the galaxy to battling weeds in the neighbor’s lawn. Some fans believe that now there are new Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord will remain at home. Other fans think that because Chris Pratt was canceled, we won’t see him in the MCU anymore.
In 2019, Chris Pratt was accused of attending a church known for preaching hate toward the LGBTQIA+ community. His popularity suffered immensely despite the rumors being false and Chris Pratt receiving support from his fellow MCU co-stars. But Pratt is known for his friendly demeanor on set. And there are plenty of Star-Lord stories to tell. Although there are no concrete plans to make a Star-Lord movie, there are a lot of possibilities.
A Legendary Star-Lord Series on Disney+
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended on a very open-ended note. Rocket Racoon was made the new leader of the Guardians, and Star-Lord was left mowing the lawn for his Grandad’s neighbor. Both might come back in the future, but it seems that Star-Lord is narratively separated from the Guardians of the Galaxy for now. And there’s a rumor that Marvel might consider making a Star-Lord mini-series on Disney+. Additionally, Chris Pratt said he was open to returning.
An interesting thing you might not have noticed is that those final words on the screen said precisely, “The Legendary Star-Lord will return.” The key word here is “Legendary,” which links the phrase to a short comic book run written by Sam Humphries and drawn by Paco Medina. In the comic, Peter Quill goes on his own solo adventure after leaving the Guardians.
The Legendary Star-Lord follows Quill as he journeys around the galaxy, dealing with his complicated family history and having a short romance with the X-Men’s Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat. In the series, Star-Lord is pursued by his father, J’son, the King of Spartax. James Gunn notably made Ego (Kurt Russell) Star-Lord’s father in the MCU, so that part of the story can’t be directly adapted.
Of course, it’s always possible someone could rewrite this complex history – as the MCU does from time to time. But it’s more likely Marvel is setting us up for a romance.
Star-Lord is in the perfect place to fall in love with Kitty Pryde. He’s back on Earth, and the MCU is slowly introducing mutants into its universe. Bringing back the fan-favorite mutant Shadowcat would be quite the event on many levels. She has a long history with the Guardians of the Galaxy. She and Star-Lord also fight together during the Marvel event Secret Wars.
It will also bring back Elliot Page’s character, who, if they decide not to recast, will be the first role played by a trans actor in the MCU. It would also be a bit curious because Elliot Page was the person who accused Chris Pratt of belonging to a church that hated LGBTQIA+ people.
Was Chris Pratt Canceled?
Chris Pratt was technically canceled for a time. But it only came after Elliot Page’s accusation, which turned out to be unsubstantiated. Pratt did not immediately respond to the rumor that he attended a church that hated LGBTQIA+ groups because he did not want to “throw a church under the bus,” so to speak. Though, he said if it were the Westboro Baptist Church, that would be different.
Despite the rumors being untrue, many fans took the accusations and ran with them. And if nothing else, the story outed Chris Pratt as being openly Catholic. Even if he doesn’t attend a hateful church, he is still not the most popular thing to be known for as a celebrity. Regardless, Pratt was defended from a barrage of angry Twitter commenters by his director James Gunn, as well as several other Marvel co-stars. And although he had a slight dip in popularity, Chris Pratt will not be recast as Star-Lord.
If the MCU were to pursue the storyline seen in The Legendary Star-Lord, it would have Chris Pratt’s character involved in a romance with Elliot Page’s Shadowcat. Shadowcat was once a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy and even captained them for a time. But a romance between the two characters might be a bit jarring on a meta-level.
You would certainly hear the uproar from fans. Page and Pratt are both professional actors and would be able to put aside their personal lives to, well, act. But having such a poor history off camera and then being asked to perform the exact opposite towards this person would take some skill.
As for now, there are no plans to give Star-Lord his own series or to make a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4, but one can assume we’ll see all of these heroes again on Battleworld during Avengers: Secret Wars.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
