Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Solves A Big Avengers: Secret Wars Problem

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s ending provides a clever solution for a potential problem involving the cosmic team’s role in Avengers: Secret Wars. After Avengers: Endgame left the bar extremely high, the MCU has been left with the responsibility of matching the epic scale of the Infinity Saga’s conclusion with Avengers: Secret Wars, which not only could gather together all past and present heroes but also their multiversal variants. However, some obstacles could arise before that happens.

The original Guardians of the Galaxy go on a final adventure together during the beginning of the MCU’s Phase 5, which barely reaches the Multiverse Saga’s midpoint. With a new Avengers team yet to take shape and the Council of Kangs’ threat looming on the horizon, the Guardians’ definitive farewell could have seemed premature, as their absence would have been deeply felt in Avengers: Secret Wars. Fortunately, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s post-credits scene confirms that the end of the trilogy won’t take the Guardians completely out of the picture yet.

Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars Need The Guardians of the Galaxy

Back in Phase 2, the Guardians of the Galaxy may have seemed like an odd addition to the MCU given their lack of popularity in comparison to the Avengers. But once established, it became quite clear that the Guardians were just as important as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as they had personal connections to Thanos and plenty of motivations to save the universe. While their link to Kang the Conqueror isn’t as strong, the Guardians of the Galaxy are still a key part of the MCU after Thanos’ defeat, and not featuring them in the Avengers’ final battle against Kang would be a disservice to the team.

GOTG 3 Proves The Original Guardians Don’t Need To Die Or Return

The release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 years before Avengers: Secret Wars creates a dilemma: not bringing back the original Guardians could be disappointing, but bringing them back would negate their emotional farewell. Since none of the Guardians of the Galaxy died, the possibility of bringing back Drax and Gamora would still be open, risking their individual endings for another minor appearance. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 avoids all of these scenarios, as it didn’t kill any Guardian in order to justify their future absence, but also introduced a new version of the team that will likely remain active when Avengers: Secret Wars arrives.

This way, the Guardians of the Galaxy will be able to appear in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars just like they did in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but the members who decided to retire can still enjoy a peaceful life offscreen. Drax, Gamora, and Mantis can continue their own journeys somewhere out there without risking their lives and without reversing the decisions they made during Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s bittersweet ending. Even Nebula, who didn’t explicitly abandon her penchant for fighting, can stay in Knowhere while the Avengers and the new Guardians fight Kang the Conqueror and his variants.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty & Secret Wars Can Be The MCU’s Guardians Vol. 4 & 5

James Gunn has made it clear that his vision for the Guardians of the Galaxy has always taken the shape of a trilogy, which means that Guardians of the Galaxy 4 is highly unlikely. However, that doesn’t mean that the Guardians of the Galaxy will stop playing a major role in the MCU after Phase 5. Just like Tony Stark kept his role as one of the Infinity Saga’s protagonists long after Iron Man 3, the Guardians of the Galaxy can continue to evolve and influence the franchise in other movies and shows.

Cosmic MCU titles are always great opportunities to feature Rocket Raccoon’s new Guardians of the Galaxy team, but Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars can be the main movies that serve as a direct continuation to their MCU debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s first post-credit scene. After all, Avengers: Infinity War already had a similar impact on the original Guardians, as they shared the spotlight with the Avengers and experienced key events like Gamora’s death and Star-Lord’s ill-advised retaliation. Likewise, characters such as Adam Warlock, Phyla, and Cosmo can perfectly develop their full-fledged character arcs throughout the next Avengers movies.