Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Doesn't Impact The Larger MCU, And That's Okay
The following article contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," including the mid-credits and after-credits scenes.
As someone who has read comics for my entire life and owns more than one cape (sorry, Edna), it broke my heart to write an article about superhero fatigue. I love superheroes and the movies and shows about them. I'm just getting tired of having to do homework to watch something or realize that if I skip one property in these franchises, I'll be woefully left behind. They all connect in so many ways that you cannot miss a second.
That was fine when there were, like, two movies in a franchise per year, but these days it's overwhelming. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is so twisty that many of my family and friends have dropped off. It's not because they don't love the films. It's because they don't have enough hours in the day to watch.
In 2022 alone, the MCU had "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," "Thor: Love and Thunder," "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," "Moon Knight," "Ms. Marvel," and "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law." Then there were the specials "Werewolf by Night" (by far my favorite, because it felt very standalone), and "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special."
All of that is to say that it was a relief to watch "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" because, like "Werewolf by Night" and "Moon Knight," it felt like it wasn't going to have a huge impact on the interconnectivity of the MCU. I can recommend this to my friends and family who haven't seen every minute of the MCU, and they can still enjoy it. I'm not saying all connection is bad. I'm just saying it's okay to have something that can stand on its own merit.
It's nice to have a break from homework
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has a history in the MCU, of course, which means that some past projects have to be seen. Obviously, the first two "Guardians" films are a must, as are "Infinity War" and "Endgame." Without them, you likely won't understand, say, the Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) backstory and why there is a version of her who has no interest in Star-Lord whatsoever.
Of course, I'm not saying this is completely standalone. We've built up to this final film featuring this iteration of the Guardians and the work of James Gunn, who is now running the DCU at Warner Bros. with producer Peter Safran. We've put in the work, which, I admit, is a strange way to talk about having seen a lot of mostly entertaining movies and TV shows. And this concluding chapter of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy is connected to the past, but going forward, this is not a film that you have to see to understand the bigger picture in the MCU, and that feels good. It feels like a vacation to go to this part of space and see where everyone ended up.
Toward the future
However, it should be noted that we do seem to have a lineup of new Guardians, according to the mid-credits scene, with Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper, mo-cap by Sean Gunn), Cosmo (voice of Maria Bakalova), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Blurp (Adam's little F'saki friend), and Phyla-Vell, one of the kids that the Guardians saved (and a character that becomes Captain Marvel for a bit in the comics).
Do I think we'll see this lineup in a future film? No idea. We know that Star-Lord will be back, but he's on Earth with his grandfather right now. Mostly, I think they'll end up in other things, and that the scene was there to let us know that they'll continue on in a new form, even if we don't see them again.
It's nice to be at a point where we can allow some of these characters to continue on, even if we're not seeing their adventures.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is in theaters now.