If you’ve watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (if you haven’t, you should turn away now – unless you don’t mind spoilers), you know Peter Quill is on his Live Laugh Love era as he backpacks across Earth in an attempt to finally find himself, healing from toxic past relationships and trauma, eating delicious food, and meditating in spiritual retreats.
Okay, that’s not exactly what’s happening, but it’s close enough. Essentially, Quill is back home turf, reuniting with his human family, and we’ve been promised that the Legendary Star-Lord will show his face around the MCU again. Chris Pratt himself has said he’s not against the idea of coming back to the character in the future, just as long as Guardians mastermind James Gunn’s legacy is done justice. So where could Quill’s self-love journey take him next?
His own show – The Legendary Star-Lord
Personally, I would love a series of short stories showing the Legendary Star-Lord’s life on Earth as he rediscovers the wonders of our beautiful disaster of a planet decades after being forcefully taken from it in the 80s when he was just 8 years old. If the little skit we were given in Vol. 3‘s second post-credits scene is any indication, the potential for hilarity – or even some genuine emotion – is immense.
Not only could Pratt return alongside Gregg Henry’s Grandpa Quill for some amazing old man banter, but we could also enjoy Peter as he attends his first Quill birthday party where some excitable distant cousins pester him about playing with his Quad Blasters as an uppity aunt watches on horrified.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars
As one of the most important faces of the MCU in recent years, it’s only natural that Pratt dusts off his Star-Lord costume in honor of the two big Avengers epics slated to happen in 2025. If we don’t see him before that, then we will almost certainly see him join the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to help thwart Kang and stop the implosion of the multiverse.
Additionally, the decision to include “The Legendary Star-Lord” in the title card at the end of Vol. 3 might be a cheeky nod to where we might actually see the character next. The Legendary Star-Lord comics series happened just before Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars event, developing Quill and famous mutant Kitty Pryde’s relationship.
The pair would then get their own miniseries as a tie-in to Secret Wars, with Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde set on Battleworld – the patchwork world made up of pieces of the multiverse after its collapse. With Marvel gearing up to introduce more of the X-Men in the MCU, and Peter now officially single, maybe it’s high time we meet Kitty.
Untitled Nova project
Although the Nova Corps were introduced in the MCU all the way back in 2014 in the first Guardians film, Marvel is taking its sweet time bringing the most famous member of the force into the full-blown fold. Richard Rider’s Nova is expected to be getting his own title film or series in the future, which would be a perfect opportunity to bring Pratt back as Quill, alongside any other of his former teammates willing to come back.
Not only are the Nova Corps directly tied to the Guardians through the 2014 blockbuster, but Rider and the intergalactic defenders are also constantly crossing paths in the comics. Most notably, Nova and Star-Lord team up to fight Thanos in the 2010 Thanos Imperative series, but seeing as the menacing purple titan is now long gone in the MCU, the franchise would have to find a new foe for the duo to battle.
Untitled Thor 5 film
While the Nova project is very likely to happen, a fifth Thor is more of a hypothetical future, where Chris Hemsworth agrees to return and give his character a worthier ending than the one we got in Love and Thunder – which, by the way, totally underutilized the potential of the Asgardians of the Galaxy. For that same reason, if another solo outing for the Odinson does happen, we demand to see more of the God of Thunder and the legendary Star-Lord together.
We can picture it now. The galaxy’s most lovable idiots squaring up to Brett Goldstein’s mighty Hercules, just before they all realize fighting is dumb and they should all become really hot best friends together, instead. Then again, Hemsworth did imply that he’d only make Thor 5 if they left all the silliness of the last two films behind. In that case, we could actually get an honest portrayal of two men living life after love and creating a genuine friendship. Oh, what am I saying, they’d probably just grunt and blast something.
A second Guardians of the Galaxy TV special
Marvel loves to tease, and maybe sometimes that’s all it is. For all we know the promise that Star-Lord will return is also just a way to keep fans engaged and coming back for more in the hope of seeing their favorite hero or movie star suit up again. Just like Vol. 3 kept enough open doors for a continuation, so did the The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. And yes, we know James Gunn has now sworn his loyalty to the DCU, and will likely never make another MCU film again, but the truth is that he did consent to including all those teasers in his projects. That has to mean something, right?
It’s not much, but Rocket did say at the end of Disney Plus’ festive one-off that the team would have to make another one. Perhaps that’s when we’ll get a better look at the new squad formation that was also teased at the end of their big screen swansong, as well as seeing Quill again.
Captain America: New World Order
This option is part wishful thinking, part good sense. It’s rumored that Captain America: New World Order, set to premiere in May of 2024, will be the film that will finally give us our first glimpse at the new Avengers, now without the veterans that created the team. Phases Four and Five have been all about establishing the successors of the original six, from Sam Wilson as the new Captain America to Kate Bishop, Jennifer Walters, Yelena Belova, and Riri Williams as the new Hawkeye, Hulk, Black Widow, and Iron Man respectively.
With Quill now on Earth, he can surely be officially named one of its mightiest heroes, and go from a Guardian of the Galaxy to an Avenger. Even if just through a quick cameo, it would be pretty incredible to see Star-Lord – a hero who has been around for quite a while now – usher in the new era of champions.