In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s normally Peter Parker who gets to prove his undying Star Wars love, making references to that “really old movie” Empire Strikes Back and building a LEGO Death Star with Ned, his guy in the chair. But Peter Quill is just as much of a fanboy, according to a new Twitter Q&A with actor Chris Pratt.
Answering fan questions to promote James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Pratt excitedly replied to user niamh’s quandary about whether Quill is part of Star Wars fandom with a resounding: “Of course he is.” According to Pratt, Quill is obsessed with pop culture on Earth and surely would have been inspired by George Lucas’ space fantasy. In fact, Pratt explains, “Han Solo would have been a large influence on who [Quill] ends up being.” According to Pratt, there is “a lot of Han Solo in the character of Star-Lord.”
Given that Peter was taken from Earth in 1988 after all three movies in the original Star Wars trilogy had already permeated pop culture, he certainly would have had plenty of time to obsess over them. It’s unclear why a preteen with Quill’s interests would call Footloose the greatest movie ever made and not one dreamt up by George Lucas. (Heck, we’d even buy him as a fan of Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, and no one’s a fan of that.) But Quill loves to shake his hips to the bassline, so maybe his love for Footloose relates more to the choreography on display.
What’s also unclear — given Quill’s pre-’90s exit from our atmosphere — is what Star-Lord would have thought of the prequels. It’s reasonable to assume he would dig Darth Maul and probably consider the Gungan celebration theme at the end of Episode 1 an absolute bop. Though the next two might prove a bit too dark and political for a guy who wears grenades on his groin. Then there’s the sequel trilogy. Force Awakens? It has Han, so it probably gets the Star-Lord seal of approval. The Last Jedi? Peter already knows a thing or two about failure, so he’d likely skip that lecture. Rise of Skywalker? It has an alien Burning Man festival with synchronized dancing! Star-Lord may be the only one in the galaxy giving that entry a rave review. Now, someone just has to get Peter a Disney Plus account.
