Marvel’s big comic book event this year, for obvious reasons, is Infinity Wars, involving the latest threat to the universe from those pesky Infinity Stones. Just like the big screen’s Avengers: Infinity War, the comic promises to have major repercussions for the Marvel universe going forward. And one of the biggest appears to be a complete shake-up of the Guardians of the Galaxy‘s line-up.
Marvel.com has revealed that writer Donny Cates and artist Geoff Shaw are set to relaunch the series in early 2019 with a much different team in place from what fans are used to. In a statement on the website, Cates outlined what we can expect from the first arc of the new Guardians comic – titled ‘Endgame’ – with the writer saying they have some crazy plans in store for us.
“Geoff and I have some INSANE plans for our first Guardians arc. This arc is called ‘Endgame,’ and as seen in Thanos Legacy, it begins with the reading of Thanos’s last will and testament. An artifact that Thanos’s brother Eros dug out of his late brother’s heart, which very well may spell doom for the entire universe. What horrid secrets are contained inside the will of the titan?!! Find out this January!! And oh yeah… our new lineup. Well, that’s a surprise as well. Use the hashtag #WhoAreTheGuardians online and maybe we’ll give out some teases as we get closer! See you all in space!”
The announcement also came with a teaser image sporting Cates’ #WhoAreTheGuardians hashtag. The artwork (seen above) doesn’t make it easy for fans to guess who could be the next Guardians of the Galaxy though, as it contains just about every character of importance to the sub-franchise since the Guardians were reinvented to great success back in 2006’s Annihilation storyline.
As ComicBook.com points out, though, the hashtag’s a callback to the #WhoIsTheRider social media campaign that drummed up interest in the new Cosmic Ghost Rider earlier this year, which was another series written by Cates. That turned out to be none other than Frank Castle AKA The Punisher. Given Cates’ affinity with the character, it’s possible he could be part of the writer’s Guardians team, too.
To keep up to date with the developing lives of the Guardians of the Galaxy, be sure to catch Infinity Wars #3 from Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr., on sale from September 12th.
