Naturally, spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will follow
One of the biggest recurring pitfalls of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the franchise’s propensity to look forward at the expense of the story its currently in the middle of telling, which proved to be borderline ruinous for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Even though we all knew heading into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that it would mark the end of the road for James Gunn, Dave Bautista, and Zoe Saldana, the conclusion is open-ended enough to hint that Kevin Feige is at least considering another intergalactic adventure featuring the cosmic misfits.
Not only that, but the promise of Star-Lord’s return opens the door to a potential Chris Pratt solo vehicle, although the most likely scenario is that he’ll be roped into the Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars double-header in some capacity. That being said, the Multiverse Saga has been doubling down on hinting towards additional installments, and then failing to follow through.
While Feige does have the long game planned out years in advance, it’s worth remembering that Marvel Studios only has three open release slots in July 2025, November 2025, and February 2026 before the Multiverse Saga reaches an end, and the smart money would be on one of them being awarded to Tom Holland’s fourth Spider-Man.
Realistically, that means the nods towards Shang-Chi 2, Eternals 2, Doctor Strange 2, Thor 5, Black Panther 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy 4 could be at least three and a half years away – if they even happen at all- making it feel as though the MCU is merely dropping breadcrumbs for the sake of it.
One of the reasons Vol. 3 works so well is because it feels like a semi-definitive conclusion, and with superhero fatigue looking like it’s genuinely beginning to set in this time, maybe Marvel should pull back on hinting at follow-ups without having concrete plans in place to deliver.
