There’s a valid reason why ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Counter-Earth has a kitschy 80s vibe

Warning: the following article contains minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe returns to the darkest reaches of space with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but one particular destination that everyone’s favorite rag-tag ensemble of misfits pays a visit to during the events of the film may feel a lot closer to home than some of the other whacky extra-terrestrial locales we’ve seen in previous films. 

This is, of course, Counter-Earth – a planet of the High Evolutionary’s (Chuwkudi Iwuji) creation, built for the purposes of homing and building a society comprised of various species’ ‘perfected’ evolutions. While it certainly looks like our home planet, there’s a distinct era that it reeks of – specifically, the 1980s. James Gunn, while doing his usual rounds on Twitter and interacting with his fans, outlined exactly why that is – and it’s a very simple explanation. 

As we all know, Counter-Earth is modeled after the High Evolutionary’s perspective of our planet. Well, it would seem that the Vol. 3 big bad didn’t revisit the scene of his inspiration before finalizing his creation, as it is all based on Earth as it existed in the 80s – hence the kitschy decor and all of the panel-and-pastel housing lining its streets. 

It’s this sort of attention to detail that helps make Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 one of the best Marvel movies we’ve seen in some time – big, expansive sets were designed around the film’s reprehensible villain, and what he thinks Earth looks like. While we loved to hate the High Evolutionary, Gunn also took some time to reassure us that the man behind the unhinged character is otherwise a standup guy.