WMG / Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Pre-release theories

The Awesome Mixtapes are a roadmap to Ego

It will be revealed that if Peter had just opened his present 20 years ago, he'd have found his dad earlier.

• Nope. It's just music Peter's mother loved.

Moondragon will appear

James Gunn has said the movie will be about "fathers," and Moondragon is Drax's daughter in the comics.

• Jossed. Alas, no. He makes brief reference to his daughter, but so far as anyone knows she's still dead.

Pom Klementieff's character will be Mantis

The initial Hollywood Reporter article announcing her casting claimed that Marvel had screen tested various Asian women for the part, which would imply the role is for an Asian character and not just a case of an Ability over Appearance Race Lift. Mantis is not only one of the few semi-prominent Asian heroines at Marvel, but she was also an important member of the Guardians in the comics. Additionally, she can communicate with plant life, meaning she could potentially serve as another interpreter for Groot.

• Confirmed.

Alternatively, she's playing Moondragon

That pesky "fathers" comment again. Though they wouldn't really need to specify Asian women for Moondragon since her dad is a Rubber-Forehead Alien. Though Pom and Dave Bautista are both part Asian (Korean and Filipino respectively), so it wouldn't be too implausible.

• Jossed. She's Mantis.

The film will introduce the Soul Stone

• Jossed; James Gunn has stated the Infinity Stones are not involved in the movie.

The Big Bad will be Adam Warlock or the Magus

• You're close; it's Ayesha/Kismet, Adam Warlock's other villainous counterpart.
• Nope, and nope — although a post-credits scene does feature Adam Warlock's sarcophagus.

The Big Bad will be Annihilus

The film would be a loose adaptation of the Annihilation saga. Annihilus is associated with the Fantastic Four, the rights to whom are still owned by Fox. However, Ulysses Klaue is also a Fantastic Four character, but is a villain in the MCU. It wouldn't be the first time villains were shuffled around for the sake of storytelling.

• Jossed; it's Ayesha. Also, Ulysses Klaue is a Black Panther character, and those rights have been at Marvel Studios for years. Annihilus's rights are tied to the Fantastic Four package, so he can't appear into the MCU until those rights revert.
• Jossed; Its not actually Ayesha who is the Big Bad, its Ego.

We'll get flashbacks to the others' backstories

It has been said that the film will develop the team members we already have. So...

• Drax's flashback will show a few typical, mundane moments of his life on his home planet with his wife and daughter. It'll be really sweet and show how happy a time it was. Then Ronan's forces would show up and destroy their home and kill them.
• Gamora's would be similar to Drax's, only she would be the little, innocent daughter in the scene. Obviously. Then it will show none other than Thanos himself killing them and "adopting" Gamora, while possibly showing her getting her bionic parts from the get go.
• Rocket as a normal raccoon...well, to be more accurate an alien that looks exactly like a raccoon from Earth, like how the Xandarians look human. He'll be rummaging and stuff before he's captured and experimented upon by scientists who make him into what we know him as. It'll also be Nightmare Fuel, by showing the experiments from Rocket's perspective as he undergoes them.
• Groot will be part of a clan of family who all use the same Pokémon Speak tic as him. Then, he gets hidden by his elders before the others are slaughtered and burned down by the Kree, who are ones who killed Groot's kind in the comics.
  • Nope. The only flashbacks we get are Ego and Meredith on Earth, before Peter was born, and a brief glimpse of Yondu teaching a young Peter how to shoot.
    • Gamora does get one in Avengers: Infinity War, similar to the one you guessed, though.

There will be a strip club

A male strip club where it'll be the guys who have to perform against their will. They'll be pawed by alien women, including the tentacles of female Starfish Aliens. Then Gamora saves them with a big ol' gun and a sword and have to fend off horny alien ladies in a simultaneously hilarious and Badass fight scene while the guys are all Distressed Dudes.

• Nope, just a robot brothel.

Whoever the villain is will use a pool of elbow macaroni to incapacitate Drax

Because he couldn't possibly understand why someone would fill a pool with elbow macaroni, Drax will be to distracted to fight for a bit, until Star-Lord makes up a lie about how on Earth, elbow macaroni is a sign of war.

• Unfortunately not (too bad)

Part of the plot is Putting the Band Back Together

The Guardian's extreme personalities were too much to work well together in the long term and they eventually ended up going their separate ways. Mantis is instrumental in getting them back together.

• Jossed.

This sequel will be a time-traveling movie

The Guardians will find the Time Stone in this film, one way or another. This will lead to them meeting the future version of the team (Charlie 27, Starhawk, etc.). They can also possibly meet other versions of heroes from different time periods (Iron Man 2020, Spider-Man 2099, maybe one of Marvel's Western heroes, etc.)

• Or perhaps meet previous "Guardians of the Galaxy" to learn that they were not the first ones to take the name. For an added bonus one of the members will be a much younger Yondu.
• The Time Stone part has been jossed, according to James Gunn, the Infinity Stones don't pertain to the plot.
• Explicitly jossed. Though the original Guardians do make a cameo appearance.

What the David Bowie cameo could have been.

David Bowie's character would have been either Peter's dad or a member of the same unknown species. The cameo would have been shown at the end of the movie and be a huge cameo, not a blink-and-you'll-miss-it type cameo like Lloyd Kaufman was in GotG 1. Then in the 3rd movie, David would have had a much larger role, if the whole father/same race thing is correct

• Jossed because David Bowie's dead since January 2016 unless you brought in some CGI.

In lieu of a cameo by Mr. Bowie, another one of his songs will play at a climactic moment.

Possibilities:

• "Space Oddity."
• Starman.
  • Both Jossed.

Pom Klementieff will be barefoot.

If Pom likes being barefoot, we'll get some Foot Focus. But if she doesn't like being barefoot, she'll at least wear shoes or slippers off-camera.

• Jossed. Her outfit includes footwear.

I am Groot

I am Groot.

• We are Groot.
• Confirmed
• ''I'' am Groot.
• We need to have a talk about your language.
• Is no one going to comment that the Cap just said "language"?

It will be revealed if he physically appears in the movie, that Simon Williams' nickname or name for one of his movie was the 'Wonder Man'.

A nod to his alter ego if he appears.

• Jossed. He doesn't appear.

Even though the Infinity Stones have no bearing in the plot, Thanos will.

Whoever the bad guy is, he will be going after the Guardians in order to find where the hell the Power Stone is and tell Thanos. One of the last scenes in the movie will be Quill asking Yondu for coordinates to Earth, setting up his appearance in Avengers: Infinity War.

• ... Kind of? Thanos's role in Gamora and Nebula's past informs their behaviour.

The team will encounter a group of Quill's half-siblings called the Star Lords.

At the end of the first movie, it's revealed that "Star Lord" is a nickname that his mother gave him but we never find out why. It will be revealed that "Star Lord" is actually a title that is given to the children of Quill's father, whoever he is.

• To add hilarity, Peter will be incredibly annoyed after all the trouble he went through to get someone to call him Star Lord.
• Jossed, although we do see a vast cave full of the bones of Quill's half-siblings.

Simon Williams turned into Wonder Man because of an Infinity Stone.

We know what they do upon contact, and this would be the best way to use the unstable version of Wonder Man from The Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes.

• Jossed.

Simon Williams' brother, Grim Reaper will appear.

And he better be played by Lance Henriksen.

• Jossed.

Alternatively, Simon Williams isn't in the movie in anything other than a cameo

People are jumping the gun and assuming he'll be in the movie and will already be Wonder Man. There's nothing to support this thus far.

• Sadly confirmed. Simon Williams was going to have one scene, and that was cut before production.

Drax will take a step up in his metaphor game, understanding what they are but using them inappropriately and incorrectly.

• Jossed.

Elizabeth Debicki's character

• Moondragon
• Phyla-Vell
• Nikki
• The Goddess
• Another of Thanos' "children"
• The Matriarch
  • All Jossed; she's playing Kismet (Ayesha).

Sylvester Stallone will play The Champion

We already have confirmation that a female actress named Ahnika Hendrickson is playing a character named The Runner and with The Collector appearing in the previous film and The Grandmaster set to appear in Thor: Ragnarok, it makes sense the final Elder will appear. Sly is a great choice for the guy who lives to go around space, picking fights. Who better than Rocky himself?

• Jossed, Stallone is playing a Ravager.

"The Chain" is about Starlord's Dad

At ComicCon, James Gunn premiered footage from Vol. 2 featuring "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. A sad song about fading love and broken promises, it will serve to contrast "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" from Vol. 1. While "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" represented Mama Quill's love for her son in spite of the distance between them (while also supporting the blossoming love among the Guardians), "The Chain" will represent Ego's strained relationship with Starlord, the time they lost and Starlord's (and Mama Quill's) feelings of abandonment (as well as a growing rift among the Guardians).

• Jossed.

Stallone will be making Judge Dredd references

He's gonna put on that Nova Corp helmet and tell everyone how he is the law. You all know this to be true.

• Could still happen, but Jossed on the Nova Corps, Stallone is a Ravager named Stakar.
  • Confirmed. At one point, he yelled "You betrayed the code" not unlike "You betrayed the law".

Possible End Credits Scenes

Including ones that could be funny successors to seeing Howard the Duck in the first one.

• Dr Strange suddenly turns up and remarks he must have miscasted a teleportation spell and then leaves to the Guardians confusion.
• Jossed.
• The Guardians watching have gone to earth and are in a cinema room watching one of the Simon Williams movies from the set pictures to everyone else is scared of the appearence of the aliens or do not care.
  • The continuing adventures of Howard the Duck as he walks out on a Simon Williams movie.
  • Jossed.
• Since there's usually one tied into an upcoming movie, something referencing Spider-Man, Thor, Black Panther or Infinity War would make sense. Possibly Infinity War, since Thor was already referenced in Doctor Strange's stinger and unless they go to earth at the end it would be odd to have a tie in to the earth-based Spider-Man and Black Panther in a space movie.
  • Jossed.
• The Guardians being hired to save Zenn-La from a certain world eater.
  • Jossed.
• Ego meeting Starfox.
  • Jossed.
• Adam Warlock. Considering how a version of his "sister" is one of the main villains of the series and this is the last "cosmic" film before Avengers: Infinity War, it would make sense for him to show up near the end.
  • Confirmed
• Rocket coming across a puddle of black goo and just brushes it off. Unbeknownst to him, the goo quietly slithers away somewhere deep in the Milano where it remains until the Guardians come to Earth in Infinity War, where it comes in contact with a certain webslinger.
  • Jossed.

Ego will be powered by the Soul Infinity Stone.

There are rumors that the Soul Gem will appear. Perhaps the Soul Gem was buried on a planet long ago, which resulted in it coming to life, thus giving birth to Ego the Living Planet?

• Jossed, James Gunn has said frequently that there are no Infinity Stones in Vol. 2.

Mantis and Drax will develop sexual tension.

Well... insofar as a Literal-Minded guy and a girl with no social skills can do that.

• Semi-confirmed, and hilariously subverted. Both find each other to be physically repulsive, being from different species and all.

Mantis' modern look will be referenced.

Maybe something along the lines of Star-Lord or Rocket saying they expected her to be green.

• Jossed.

Drax figured out how to have a sense of humor

And he doesn't know how to manage it, resulting in very loud laughter and explanations of what he found funny.

• Very much confirmed.

James Gunn is completely bullshitting us...

No way he would just casually throw around the fact that Peter's dad is Ego The Living Planet, it's practically a huge plot point for him! Either there's a bigger twist lying around, or James Gunn is just trolling us for kicks.

• There is a bigger twist — Ego is a villain.

Kurt Russell is playing Ego, but his "human form" is a completeley different character

Similar to the Iron Man 3 Mandarin/Trevor Slattery switcheroo, but Played for Drama; the human form of Ego was a lie, and his true identity will be The Reveal of the film. My personal guesses are either Starfox or even Adam Warlock himself.

• James Gunn explained that Kurt Russell's form is an "avatar" created by Ego manipulating his own molecules.

Ego or Yondu will die.

Chris Pratt said that working on Vol. 2 helped him cope with the death of his father; what better way than by doing a movie that culminates in the death of one of Chris Pratt's on-screen fathers?

• Supporting this is that Yondu is the only Guardian not be in the cast of Infinity War.
• Apparently jossed on the Yondu dying WMG since this showed up.
  • Actually, both Yondu and Ego end up dying. It turns out that having Rooker on the set of Infinity War was just a ruse, somewhat of a Double Subversion in Real Life.

This movie's sequel will be called...

NOW That's What I Call Guardians of the Galaxy or The Very Best of the Guardians of the Galaxy, so as not to make the Awesome Mix Vol. # gag stale.

• It will be called Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Boogie! The Guardians save Christmas from an alien out to kill Santa Claus, a being who is the Anthropomorphic Personification of the holiday itself. They are aided by Buddha, Krishna, and Manaf, who don't want American Christian conservatives to unjustly blame them and their friends for Christmas's destruction.
• Alternatively The Essential Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Guardians of the Galaxy: The Third Whatever
• Jossed.

Ayesha and her underlings will be A Nazi by Any Other Name

They are race who named themselves The Sovereign who regard themselves as genetically perfect and are heavily associated with gold. If doesn't scream "We are the Master Race" I don't know what does.

• Probably Jossed. The latest trailer has her hawking an Assimilation Plot.
  • Considering they're "cleansing" the galaxy of 'weakness' and seeking Ego's mysterious genetic code for their own purposes (probably the creation of a master race) so this seems super un-Jossed....
  • Fridge Logic: That is false and she had no such plot in the movie. That was Ego's thing.
• We don't see enough of the Sovereign society in the movie to know for sure. They are supremacists though, with very high opinions of themselves.

When Ego was on Earth, he made his own collection of 80s pop songs.

He will give the tape as a gift to Peter, setting up Guardians Of The Guardians Vol. 3.

• Jossed.
• Close. [[Spoiler: Yandu gives him a Zune with 300 80's pop songs on it.]]

The Symbiote will appear, foreshadowing the coming of Venom.

Apparently, Tom Holland appeared on the set a while back, and he's Spider-Man. And the Symbiote is from space, which is where the Guardians work.

• Jossed.

Ayesha will have a Heel–Face Turn by the end of the movie

She's a superheroine in the comics. My guess is that she'll talk a great deal about the Right Of A Superior Species to pursue her Assimilation Plot, but it will suddenly ring false to her after being forced to confront the results of her callousness by the Guardians.

• Jossed. The Sovereign have no plot in the movie beyond wanting to kill the Guardians for personal reasons. By the end, Ayesha is more determined then ever to kill them.

Ayesha/Kismet will be the movie version of Warlock/Magus, and she'll be the one who carries the Soul Stone

This movie already has a kazillion different characters, so it seems highly unlikely they'll introduce both Warlock and her female counterpart. It's much simpler to give Ayesha/Kismet the same role as Warlock has in the comics, and have her be the one who bears the Soul Stone. Also, her rhetoric in the trailer sounds pretty similar to the creed of the Universal Church of Truth, which Magus lead in the comics. So maybe in the movie she will start out as Magus, and will later have a Heel–Face Turn and become Warlock, i.e. the opposite of what happened in the comics.

• More than likely Jossed. James Gunn has already said in multiple interviews that the Infinity Stones are not involved with Vol 2.
• Jossed. She would of used the stone if she had it.

There is a twist bigger than Ego being Star-Lord's father

The fact that James Gunn just outright said who the hell he is is both funny and curious. So maybe we're going through a Winter Soldier situation where one twist is already obvious and is there to distract you from a bigger twist hiding around in the movie.

• Confirmed. The bigger twist is that Ego is the main villain.

Ego only "finds" Peter because he needs something from him.

In the trailer he says "I finally found you", as if he's been looking for Peter for a long time. But Ego hired Yondu to pick Peter up and Peter was with the Ravagers for over 25 years, so either Yondu was deliberately concealing him from Ego for multiple years, or Ego just didn't look for him after Yondu didn't deliver him. Peter wasn't particularly hard to track down over those years; he was an active criminal with a reputation through at least some bits of the galaxy. It's somewhat convenient that his biological father suddenly "finds" him two months after he becomes famous, probably rich (from the hero-for-hire gig), and has some sway in organizations like Nova Corps. It seems reasonable to say that maybe Ego has finally hunted him down because he needs a favor.

• Confirmed. Ego needs Peter to accompany him in assimilating the universe.

The movie will have a Framing Device

The film is set two months after the first. This seems a little odd considering we're so close to Infinity War. However only the main story of the film will be set two months after with a Framing Device set much closer to Infinity War. The film will begin In Medias Res at a pivotal moment; such as Ego revealing he's Peter's Father (which James Gunn has said happens very early in the movie). A voice will then interrupt saying "Hang on a second, how did you get there?". We'll then cut to the Guardians (or possibly just Peter) being interrogated about the events of the movie; possibly by Sylvester Stallone's character (who is said to be a member of Nova Corp). The interrogator will be after something or someone the Guardians encountered. The Guardians will then begin a How We Got Here story to get back to that point, before continuing on in a mostly chronological order. Essentially imagine Tales From The Borderlands with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Jossed.

Yondu and Baby Groot will dance together as a mid-credit scene.

Out of the gang and the two fathers of the team, Yondu's probably the one most secretly paternal. So him bonding with Baby Groot seems the least odd. Plus, it'd be a callback to the time when Michael Rooker did the Twig Groot dance in real life.

• Jossed. Yondu dies at the end.

Sylvester Stallone's character theories.

What we know: Stallone is playing Stakar, a "life-long Ravager" who has a personal connection to Yondu. Apparently he banished Yondu 20 years prior and they haven't seen each other since, but they have a somewhat father-son dynamic.

• Stakar banished Yondu for his theft of Peter (stealing Peter likely cost the Ravagers a lot of money and reputation) or for his perceived softness regarding Peter.
• Jossed. Yondu was banished for delivering Ego's various children to him; child trafficking is against Ravager code.

Post-release theories

If Ego had lived and his plan succeeded, he would have become another Dormammu.

When the planet-devouring plants are activated, look at what spreads from it - That dark, smokey-blue substance looks very similar to the matter that the Dark Dimension was comprised of. Also something of note that the insides of Ego's planet form have a similar esoteric-nervous-system look that parts of the Dark Dimension itself. Considering Ego's plan was to spread himself throughout the universe - Which is effectively what Dormammu was doing, only on a smaller scale - It seems possible that if unopposed, he could have easily risen to the same level of powers as Dormammu, and began to look to other dimensions...

Yondu's mother tongue has separate words for "person who sired you" and "person who raised you".

"Father" and "daddy" were the best English equivalents the Translator Microbes could scrounge up. The Italian dub has Yondu calling Ego "the person who brought you to this world", a well-know euphemism for "sired", which backs up this idea. The two words have strongly different connotations despite having arguably the same literal meaning. This meme is quite old. Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy.. Which, when you think about it, kinda sums up the whole film.

Venom or the Symbiote will appear in the third film.

And Venom will be played by Zendaya.

• Jossed. Venom is getting a Sony film.

Peter has more siblings running around.

Ego sired children in countless worlds over millennia. Since Yondu stopped delivering them to him, there's every chance there's more of them running around.

• CONFIRMED. In the The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special we learn that Mantis was actually Ego's daughter and Peter's half-sister'

Yondu will still show up in Avengers: Infinity War

Michael Rooker confirmed that Yondu will appear in Avengers: Infinity War though he said this two months before Vol. 2 premiered. In the movie itself, Yondu sacrificed his life to save Peter. Now, how will Yondu come back for Infinity War? Unless Rooker is trolling, it's possible that Yondu will indeed be in Infinity War but in a different capacity. Either he shows up in a flashback or he was revived via Time Stone or he wasn't really dead and somehow was captured by Thanos.

• Addition: One of the capability of Infinity Gauntlet with all the stones? Revival. That's how they restored the universe in the comic.
• Here's an idea: Each main character gets one wish with the gauntlet, Peter has to agonize over whether to save his mom or Yondu.
• Perhaps Drax will perform a Heroic Sacrifice, but will get a wish. He will try to bring back his daughter...but it turns out she survived years ago and is now out there in the universe fighting evil as Moondragon. An overjoyed Drax brings Yondu back to life, with his Last Request being that the Guardians find Moondragon and let her know how much he loves her and that he never stopped trying to avenge her mother.
  • Admittedly I greatly dislike this idea to begin with, but why do we have to lose Drax in such a scenario, especially when he had no personal connection to Yondu?
• Jossed. Yondu isn't even mentioned in Infinity War. In all likelihood Rooker was just doing his part to throw off the spoilers. Additionally James Gunn has said that the impact of Yondu's death needs to be lasting and to bring the character back would be "cheap" and "dishonest"...so sorry, Yondu fans, but a resurrection is simply never going to happen.

The Ravagers show one thing what can happen to a rebellion. And at one point the Ravagers were the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The ravagers at one time were a loose confederation of rebels fighting against the Kree Empire, but eventually fell to piracy. The most inviolable parts of the code where what Yondu broke and considered so bad because of Yondu's past being a child slave owned by the Kree . This also explains Ronan's line in the first film and makes it both more meaningful and pointed, and links to the family theme in both films. Quill's Guardians are the true heirs of the previous ones. A group of Privateers/Pirates doing deniable things against one Empire while being supported by another. Of course when the war is over, what happens to mercenary bands? They turn bandit or pirate since the work has dropped, and are no longer being paid.

The only reason Peter was the only successful experiment out of hundreds was because Ego actually was emotionally connected to his mother.

While Ego fathered hundreds of offspring in order to create a successful progeny. It is clear Meredith was the only one that he had any love for. In fact it was this connection to her that almost tempted him to give up his eons long plan, so strong was the affection. Hence why he had to kill her. However because he actually loved her he truly shared a piece of his celestial self with her. Instead of just DNA a part of his being merged with her.Peter was created in an act of love.

J'Son of Spartax can still appear in a sequel.

With an original Guardians lineup in existence, J'Son could be a renegade member who claims to be the original Star-Lord.

• Jossed.

Vance Astro will appear.

With a name like Astrovik they might rewrite him as Russian, having been sent into space on the same mission as Cosmo. He grew up secretly listening to the Captain America radio show, and was thus inspired to get into the space program during the Cold War. After going through the same warp-space phenomena that brought Howard the Duck to this plane, he's separated from Cosmo, captured and put through a torturous procedure, which gives him the powers needed to craft his own Captain America shield and secure his own escape.

• Jossed.

Peter still has his Celestial Powers.

Ego said that in order to have enough power for his plans, two Celestials were needed. If 'The Light' was solely apart of Ego, then Quill reaching down to it wouldn't mean more power, just Peter using some of Ego's power. But it also wasn't the case that the minds of two celestials were needed, as Ego clearly forcefully used Peter's power twice to forward his plans. It's most likely that 'The Light' is an inter-dimensional energy that all Celestials can access, Ego just trained Peter to use him as a medium for it. Y'know so that Peter would be dependant on him, and we can't take Ego's line "Destroy me and you'll be just like everybody else" seriously, as there was a bomb to his head, he wanted to live and clearly was tempting Peter with the promise of Godlike power. The truth could actually be "Destroy Ego and you'll be just like everybody else... until you learn how to access 'The Light' on your own."

• Jossed. At least as far as Infinity Wars goes. Guardians 2 made it quite clear that Ego was the source of Quill's powers, so barring an Ego resurrection it's doubtful that Quill's powers will ever resurface. Furthermore, Quill with superpowers was fun for a single movie, but for him to have it on a permanent basis would fundamentally change the character, and for the worse IMO.
  • That doesn't Joss the theory, since the theory is that Ego was lying about being the source of his powers and was acting as training wheels for him to more easily access it. Quill hardly knows how his powers work, so him thinking he no longer has them isn't proof that that is the case.
• It's worth considering that Quill is still incredibly young compared to Ego. Even if he is capable of manifesting these powers himself, it may take a very long time for him to be able to use them, much less do anything significant with them. Assuming he lives that long.

Celestial power might be the same as Infinity Stones

• Ego seeks Peter out specifically because he hears that he's capable of wielding one for any length of time. If touching a Stone kills any and all mortals in seconds, but a Celestial can wield one long enough to blow away an otherwise invulnerable target, what might a Celestial be able to do with knock-off of a Stone AKA an Arc Reactor? The combined teams could be in the middle of getting their asses kicked when Peter is flung into Stark, whereupon his hand lands on Stark's chest and Peter suddenly finds himself capable of once more wielding a lesser form of the power he used against Ego.

Peter Quill IS Eternity and will prove Critical in Infinity War

When Ego is talking about "Eternity" we get a close up on Peter's eyes where he has the universes of Eternity in them. Somewhat like here: https://marvel.com/universe/Eternity Though he's missing the bright light in one eye.

As Eternity IS the essence of the Marvel universe, Peter as a Celestial could be powerful enough to either manifest or hold it. He could use his power to match or disable the Infinity Stones to give the Avengers a fighting chance or to resurrect allies.

If Infinity War ends up being Devastating (and the last movie of several actor's contracts) he can use his power as/connection to Eternity in order to "remake" the universe as Ego wanted... just to be closer to what it was initially. It may not be accurate, and could require Peter to write himself out of reality as is, but as Eternity, well... it's a decent trade off.

• If by "Critical", you mean "causing Thanos to win"...but he's still not Eternity.

Stan Lee was confirmed to be a "Watcher Informant" in the credits, but he's still something much greater.

Many people theorized that Stan Lee's cameo in every movie could indicate he was a Watcher, some even believing him to be Uatu. While not outright confirmed, the creators ran with this theory. He could be The One Above All, the ultimate Author Avatar and supreme divine entity who could easily use Deus ex Machina to correct everything and reset it back to normal if Thanos' plans to recreating the multiverse with the Infinity Gauntlet happens to go too far beyond any hope of solving. Not even the "Eternity" theory listed above can go that far. The One Above All truly is God (with a capital G.)

• If he is The One Above All, this adds a new reason to why the Watchers got bored of his stories and left. To them, Stan is among the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse. They'd probably gotten bored because they were expecting stories about his epic adventures or feats, not about his time spent wandering about a fairly insignificant planet (to them). Or if he is Uatu, maybe they simply heard his FedEx story too many times.

Casting Choices for Adam Warlock.

• Ben Browder - He's just kind of hanging out in the first space battle as one of the goldskins, then disappears. It'd be a big step up for an actor primarily known for his television work, but he is well-known in the SF community and could bear the part well.
• Armie Hammer - Or at least if he doesn't get to be Hal Jordan
  • Given that Hal Jordan isn't in that movie at all AND that Armie Hammer has recently revealed that he was never even in talks for the part, it isn't that crazy to think he'd be available for Warlock.
• Alexander Skarsgård- but then, his father is also in the MCU. If there's going to be a scene of them together in the near future, cue Dr. Selvig mistaking Adam as his son.
• Nikolaj Coster-Waldau- he could play him after Game of Thrones is finished. Then, cue the golden hand jokes once he got the Infinity Gauntlet.
• Wang Leehom
• Ryan Guzman - He's been in some superhero media before, so perhaps he would like to play in the big leagues. Adam could be a good Star-Making Role for a younger actor like him.
• Brenton Thwaites
• Nathan Fillion
• Omari Hardwick
• Regé-Jean Page
• Ethan Josh Lee
• Zendaya Coleman
• Ki Hong Lee. He's relatively young and handsome and has experience in both comedy and action.
• Taron Egerton
• Ansel Elgort - he'll get along with Star-Lord when it comes to having great taste in music.
  • All Jossed. Will Poulter has been officially announced to have been casted as Adam. Though Fillion does have a minor role in the movie.

Something along the lines this joke will happen in volume 3

Adam Warlock: You fight well, Peter Quill. Perhaps I shall bring your body back to Sovereign for assmilation into the genetic pool. But as of now, I must claim justice for your betrayal, your theft and your murder...of the noble Taserface. (beat) *doubles over in laughter*

• Or maybe Adam will also think Taserface is a cool name. He won't exactly be the most worldly man, having been made to be a weapon.
• Jossed.

Jane Foster is Peter's half sister, or at least has a link

Ego twigged to Peter after he held an Infinity stone and didn't blow up. He held it for MAYBE a minute and needed to guardians to help disperse the power before he disintegrated. Jane Foster held one inside of herself, for days, by herself, without blowing up. She might be half celestial and should be AT LEAST on the same power level as him. Possibly more.

• More likely is the fact it was simply the fact the one she had was the Reality stone, which on its lonesome isn't *too* intense, all things considered. The Power stone is the embodiment of all energy that ever was and ever will be in the universe. The Power stone is what gives infinite power to all of the other stones in the gauntlet - without Power, the others are much, much more limited in scope and ability.
• Jossed.

Mantis is one of Ego's children.

Though Mantis herself states that she was adopted as an orphan by Ego, it's very possible that she is one of Ego's many "failed" offspring in an attempt to father a new Celestial. Like before, Ego arranged for her to be brought to him, but unlike the other failed offspring, Mantis was spared and kept around because her empathic abilities were of use to him. This would effectively make Mantis Peter's half sister.

• But Mantis remembers Ego finding her after her biological parents abandoned her as a larva. Ego had Yondu deliver all of his children to him and if Mantis was one of them, he'd remember Ego sparing her.

  • Yondu didn't deliver all of Ego's offspring, just some of them. Ego has been trying to breed a Celestial heir for a very long time, probably a lot longer than Yandu'd been alive let alone for hire.

• This is heavily implied in Ego's diorama of his mates, as one of the mates bears a similar resemblance to Mantis.
• In The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special, we learn that Mantis IS a child of Ego. She kept it a secret from Peter, as she didn't want to be associated with Ego and his actions. Namely, Ego killing Meredith Quill.

The climax of the third film will be a dance off

• Jossed. Dancing doesn't happen until the actual end of the film.

Post-film, Nebula will go and get herself a hat or some pretty jewelry

Alternatively, Kraglin will get it for her.

• Jossed for Infinity War and Endgame and for Vol. 3.

Peter's Celestial heritage was activated by the Infinity Stone.

Super powers that remain dormant until a Fly Or Die situation are a long-standing trope. Ego getting Peter to use his powers certainly wasn't that, and he implied that after that failed with his other kids he killed them instantly and painlessly, without a chance to use any powers defensively.0

How the Guardians first encounter with Adam will go.

Adam: I AM ADAM OF THE SOVEREIGN, CHAMPION OF THE WORLD of perfection, AND YOU FOOLISH GUARDIANS MUST PAY FOR THE MANY CRIMES YOU HAVE COMMITTED AGAINST MY WORLD!!]]

The Guardians will be unimpressed and tired of crap like this.

Adam: CRIMES SUCH AS THIEVERY, DESTRUCTION OF OUR FLEETS, AND-

Peter: Rocket?

Rocket: On it *Fires a gun right at Adam, temporarily knocking down.*

• Jossed. The team's first encounter with Adam, is actually quite serious.

Mainframe is male...

But for some reason is stuck with the voice of a male...Probably not the case but it would be a little funny.

• Jossed.

Ego is considered to be a failure/outcast of the other celestials.

Whether it's because he can't leave his homeworld for long or because he's a psychopath or he's too arrogant to even talk with, the other celestials don't want to associate with him. Or...

The other celestials are extinct...

And killing off Ego destroyed their race, unless anyone with grand, cosmic powers or celestial genes can be considered a celestial.

• Jossed. Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder confirm that the Celestials are still alive. And the former film reveals the frightening way Celestials are produced...

In the first post-credits scene, Drax was not hit by the arrow

His reflexes are too fast. He caught it. And impaled his hand in the process.

• Better yet, it stopped just barely in time, but Drax started yelling in pain anyway, purely to mess with Kraglin.

The New Sovereign cocoon uses the Soul Stone

Ayesha is based on the comic character formerly known as Her. The being she is creating is called Adam who is clearly meant to be Adam Warlock, who was originally known as Him in the comics. In the comics, the Soul Gem is most closely associated with Adam Warlock who wielded it for many years. Warlock was a major player in the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series which the Infinity War films are based on.

• Jossed. Avengers: Infinity War reveals the Soul Stone is on the remote planet of Vormir, and won't come out unless you sacrifice someone you love.

Mantis will have to calm the Hulk at some point in Infinity War

And Tony will make some quip about Banner having a thing for insect-themed women, getting a glare from Natasha.

• Alternatively, she'll have to force Banner to become the Hulk in a desperate hour.
• Jossed. Mantis and Banner never meet in Infinity War. However, Mantis does use her powers on Thanos, in order to restrain him.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Rocket will have a heart-to-heart with Tony similar to the one he had with Yondu

Tony's roughly in the same place that Yondu was at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: rejected by his teammates for doing something horrible and bitterly convinced that there can be no reconciliation between them after all that's happened. Rocket, recognizing the parallels between himself, Tony, and Yondu, will give him a gruff You Are Better Than You Think You Are speech and push him to reconcile with Steve before it's too late.

• Once Rocket and Tony bond after chatting, this could lead into the technical-discussion scene that's been suggested on the Avengers: Infinity War WMG page.
• Jossed. Rocket and Tony never meet in Infinity War, and Tony bonds instead with Nebula in Endgame. Rocket does have a heart-to-heart with Thor, though in Infinity War AND Endgame.

Ego was a nascent Celestial

In the comics Celestials aren't conscious planets, they are conscious galaxies. Ego was the first of a new generation of Celestials. Even though all the other Celestials seemingly died off, new ones are still forming. Given a few more hundred million years Ego might have properly expanded his consciousness, but Ego tried to speed up the process.

• This is debatable, as Arishem in Eternals is implied to be an extremely ancient and cognizant Celestial. Each Celestial prowess and intelligence may range between each Celestial.

Songs on the Zune.

There will be some 90s and 2000s music on it and Peter will spend large portions of Vol. 3 complaining about how Earth's music isn't as good as it used to be.

• Mixed. The movie's soundtrack does features songs up into the 2000s, but Peter never offers commentary about the songs (though Rocket appears to be a big fan of the Zune).
• In fact, new member Phylla seems to be a fan of newer artists of Britney Spears and Korn, and Rocket is far from disapproving of her tastes.

Ego is actually Phaaze (crack theory)

The hero uses the villain's own power source against him, destroying the villain removes their powers and makes the planet explode, and the villain has seeds spreading a big blue mass all over the galaxy to try and spread himself.

• Appears Jossed.

Ayesha used a sample of Peter's hybrid DNA to create Adam Warlock.

Aside from the jokes about how Ayesha got Peter's DNA (which she could "see" somehow), Adam having Celestial DNA gives him energy powers similar to his comic book self. Having human DNA also gives him the connection to humanity his comic book self had.

• Building on the above, Adam becomes Magus after taking the path Quill didn't take and accessing Ego's Light
  • As Adam's behavior becomes more arrogant, imperious, and sanctimonious, someone will comment that it must be the Ayesha in him.
• To emphasize this, Adam will listen to lots of Millennial music, leading to some friction between Quill and himself.
• Appears Jossed.

Wonder-Man will join the Guardians in the future

Because one does not simply cast Nathan Fillion in a perfect role and delete it without any further mention, especially James Gunn.

• Alternatively, they could cast Zendaya.
• Jossed for Vol. 3.

The Yondu loyalists were part of his gang before he was exiled and The Taserface rebels joined afterwards.

The Ravagers as a whole are shown to have 100 different factions. They also appear to be very influential in certain circles. When they declare someone exiled for breaking their very few rules, that person would have a limited pool of talent to choose from to replenish losses. Only the worst of the worst would sign up with an exile.

The Guardians will teach Mantis to fight in the time skip between this movie and Infinity War

This way she'll be able to have a more active role in the fight against Thanos.

• Jossed. She isn't very active in Infinity War.

After being sent out by Ayesha, Adam will decide to seek the Guardians' help in his mission to destroy the Guardians

The film will subvert and lampshade the Liar Revealed trope when Adam finds out who they are, having spent so much time with them that he won't even try to go back to Ayesha. For example:

Quill: Adam. We're the Guardians Of The Galaxy. You've been trying to kill us this whole time.

Adam: What? You lied to me?

Quill: Yeah dude. We did.

Adam: (beat) Okay. Let's go.

Gamora: You're not upset?

Adam: Of course not. You guys are my friends. What did you think was going to happen? That we were just going to throw out all the friendship and bonding we've been through and go our separate ways until a contrived conflict has to make us come back together again?

• The Nostalgia Critic will love it.
• Jossed.

Ego was lying about loving Meredith

The movie makes it pretty obvious that Ego is It's All About Me incarnate: he's psychotically self-absorbed and completely incapable of relating to others as equals. So, when he admits he murdered Meredith, he's lying when he claims that he still loved her beforehand. The truth is that Ego is just trying to put a positive spin on it because he cares about her so little except as a way to motivate Peter into joining him: "look how important my work is! I would rather let a woman I loved die than allow it to be impeded!" Ego probably didn't consider Meredith any more important than the potentially millions of other women he impregnated across the universe. In fact, he probably spun similar spiels about only loving their mother alone of all his many conquests to all of his kids.

• Alternatively, Ego did care about Meredith, but still considered her as someone who was beneath him and expendable in the long run in similar vein to Mantis being a "pet" for Ego.

Peter inherited Ego's powers because he's human

It's a well-established fact throughout the Marvel multiverse that whilst humans lack any of the inherent powers so common amongst other races, they're also very adaptable and prone to assimilating powers from external sources — hence the vast array of mutates who make up most of Marvel's inherently powered individuals. This same "genetic flexibility" is probably why Ego's powers passed on to Peter; unlike his alien siblings, Peter had no inherent powers of his own to interfere with the Celestial mojo from his father's side of the family.

All of Ego's children had his powers, he just killed them off too quickly

Given how self-absorbed and impatient Ego is, despite being immortal, it's very likely that all of his kids could have inherited his powers - they just needed time to develop them. Peter didn't manifest anything until he was in his — what, late 20s, early 30s? And he had exposure to the Infinity Stone too. All evidence suggests that Ego took his kids as soon as they were reliably weaned from their mother; Yondu was supposed to pick Peter up when he was about 8, after all. It makes sense that Peter's siblings had the potential, they just needed more time and training to bring it out... and Ego sabotaged himself because he wanted results now, just like how he sabotages his efforts to convince Peter through his own narcissism and sociopathy.

Rocket will resent Peter for Yondu's death

• Jossed. No sign of resentment.

Alternately, he'll feel a certain degree of responsibility for it.

After all, if he had had two space suits in his bag instead of one, Yondu would have survived, and this is likely going to weigh on him for some time. Of course, if he didn't have the one suit he did have then both Peter and Yondu would be dead, but it's unlikely that that fact would console him much. The ending of the film implies (and Word of God supports) the start of some significant Character Development surrounding this experience, and going forward his responsibility toward others is likely to be a much bigger part of who he is.

• Jossed.

If Sylvester Stallone and his gang return for GOTG Vol. 3, Their role would be much bigger and important

Both James Gunn and Kevin Feige teases Stallone's Starhawk and his Ravager Buddies would be important for MCU and they were meant to appear for future MCU films. They would team-up with Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Adam Warlock. Think of their relationship being similar to Indiana Jones and his father from The Last Crusade. It would be great if Stakar would tell Peter about his relationship with Yondu and how Yondu's Death was the reason for him reuniting the gang!

• Sylvester Stallone has been confirmed to return to GOTG Vol. 3 with it being rumored that the alternate past variant Gamora is now leading the Ravagers!
• Stallone's appearance was ultimately a minor supporting role again.

Vol. 3 will deal with the aftermath of Infinity War and Untitled Avengers Sequel(later titled Avengers Endgame).

Marvel Studios confirmed the film would take place after Infinity War and Untitled Avengers Sequel (later titled as Avengers Endgame). How would the galaxy react to Thanos' death or defeat and how do Gamora, Nebula & Drax feel about finally avenging their family's murder from Thanos? I think Nova Corps would reward Guardians of the Galaxy because they don't know about Avengers and think Guardians are the one who stopped Thanos. Nova Prime will tell them of how they are proud of them for finally stopping Thanos.

• That last part is possibly Jossed. It is specifically stated in Infinity War that Thanos decimated Xandar when he stole the Power Stone from the Nova Corps, so none of that destruction was reversed when the Snap was undone. The power vacuum created by the damage to Xandar may indeed be a factor, however.
  • The initial theory is confirmed overall. Endgame concludes with present day Gamora remaing dead, but her alternate past version vanishing after the Final Battle. Knowing Quill's feelings, he and guardians might track the alternate version down.
  • Double Confirmed. Vol. 3 deals with Star Lord's guilt over Gamora's death and Thanos using the stones to kill half of the universe. The film ends with Star Lord "letting go" of his feelings for Gamora and accepting that the Alternate Past version of Gamora is not his version of her. He then humbly returns to Earth and reunites with his Grandfather.

After the events of the movie, Nebula traveled to Earth to seek out the Avengers

She said she wanted an army that could take on Thanos. Where better to start than a planet that just fended off one of his attacks?

• Jossed. Infinity War revealed that after the events of Guardians 2, Nebula went after Thanos on her own.

The Milano will be repaired or replaced.

If the Avengers: Infinity War footage shown at Comic-Con and D23 is trustworthy, the Guardians will either have rebuilt the Milano or acquired another ship of the same class by the time of Infinity War. The film heavily implies that had Rocket been given enough time, he could have completely repaired the Milano or, at a minimum, restored it to flyable condition so it could be flown to an inhabited planet for further repair. Assuming that the Ravagers didn't blow the rest of it up when they left, there's plenty of time now for the Guardians to return to Berhert and put their ship back together. (Of course, if they can do it without the Sovereign noticing.)

• Yep, replaced. The Guardians' new M-ship, the Benatar, is a different class than the 2-seat and 4-seat variants we've seen previously. It has a double-decker cockpit extending down to the lower deck (with more front-facing seating), a new engine layout, and a small auxiliary vehicle that docks in the back (similar to the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels). Additionally, several months after Vol. 2's release, we learned more about the repair tool Rocket was using on Berhert. Specifically, that tool is not at all cost-effective to deploy, and since after the end of Vol. 2 the Guardians have the Quadrant (and presumably whatever vehicles are docked to it), it would have been wiser to return to Berhert simply to gather up whatever important stuff was still there, then just abandon the wreckage and purchase another ship.

Star-Lord will get a new Cool Helmet.

Similar to the above, the leaked Infinity War footage shows that Peter Quill once again has his trademark Collapsible Helmet. Seeing as the original was smashed and the pieces were not recovered when the Ego planet collapsed, it will be a new helmet. Pay attention to the appearance of Rocket's "aero-rigs" as they deploy and retract: they do so in a manner identical to the helmet, which means that he reverse-engineered the helmet's technology. Because Rocket knows how the helmet works, he can easily build a new one for Quill.

• Confirmed, although its origin is not revealed.

Rocket will always have tape with him in the future.

And in either Infinity War or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he'll be able to make an emergency repair and save someone's day. And, of course, it will be a glorious Brick Joke.

• Sorry, didn't happen in either Infinity War or Endgame, and looking unlikely going forward. His new outfit post-Endgame ditches the huge fanny pack in favor of a much more streamlined utility belt with just the holsters for his blasters and two tiny pouches (presumably for power/ammo cartridges).

The Groot post-credits scene is a skip forward to the present day.

According to the Infinity War teaser poster and other material, Groot will still be an adolescent by the year 2018. Unless his growth curve is ridiculously nonlinear ^note meaning he'd grow like crazy in the last weeks of 2014 and not grow at all for the next several years, then this scene has to be at least a few years after the events of the film.

• Confirmed via an interview with James Gunn. As it turns out, the Groot that appears in that scene is the Infinity War Groot CGI model, suggesting that the scene might even be set in 2018. (In the interview, Gunn wasn't interested in precisely nailing down the date.)
  • If the scene does happen in 2018, then it would be even more Hilarious in Hindsight as Groot will be complaining Peter is "boring" even as as the team is getting ready to fight Thanos.

Ego became Ultron

The theory begins with the idea that when Ego's brain was destroyed, he did not die. That might not seem possible, but this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. More bullshit things than that have happened.

• One way Ego could have survived is by transferring his consciousness, or part of it at least, to one of his seeds. The "light" would be gone from the original planet, leaving Quill without his powers.

More related to the theory however, is the connection between the Mind Stone and the Power Stone, two of the Infinity Stones already seen in the MCU. In the Wikipedia article about the comic versions of the stones, it says, "Backed by the Power Gem, the Mind Gem can access all minds in existence simultaneously." If this holds true for the MCU versions as well, or if a similar connection exists, Peter having held the Power Stone, which is connected to the other stones, might have allowed Ego an escape conduit. Ego could have thrust a piece of his consciousness through that conduit, where it ended up inside of the Mind Stone.

To further the theory, Vol. 2 takes place a mere 2 months after the retroactively titled Vol. 1. This would have it happening either just before Age of Ultron, or nearly simultaneously with it.

The Mind Stone was contained within Loki's scepter. After the first Avengers movie, the scepter was taken by S.H.I.E.L.D., who were controlled by Hydra. Hydra would have had possession of the scepter for a long time, months at least; if they didn't have it the entire time, they would have taken it during the Battle of the Fridge, around the time of Captain America The Winter Soldier. Baron Strucker was a ruthless scientist with all of Hydra's resources at his disposal. He had months, at least. While Stark and Banner are beyond geniuses, the idea that they could do something in days that Strucker couldn't in months is ridiculous.

Beyond that, Tony admits that they shouldn't have been close to success. J.A.R.V.I.S. expressed the same thing when he met Ultron. Either what happened was a complete accident (implausible, but not impossible), the Mind Stone is sentient (scarily possible, but still unlikely), or something outside of Tony, Banner, and the Stone interfered. That something could have been Ego.

When Ego died, his consciousness could have transferred into the Mind Stone. The Mind Stone could then have expelled him into the virtual world, giving him new life- albeit without his memories.

Ultron and Ego have very similar origins. Both were born alone, frightened and in darkness. Ultron did have Jarvis, but he wasn't much comfort. Both sought out a purpose in life (I don't get it- the mission. Give me a sec...) and upon meeting other lifeforms, became very disenchanted with them. In the end, both sought to remove this other life from their world, and become the sole living thing.

Ultron: When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world... will be metal.

Ego: Soon, Peter, me will be all there is, so STOP PISSING ME OFF!

Also, both have plans that require them to create new life (Vision and Peter) in order to succeed, and that new life ends up killing them.

They also take on similar physical forms during their lives: Ego starts out as a floating blue brain; Ultron starts out as a disembodied program represented by a blue holographic ball. Ultron's first body is a zombie-esque hodge-podge of parts; Ego's first body (that we see) is shot by Peter several times and ends up looking very similar. Half the face gone, one arm useless, significant chunks of the body missing. Later, Ego renders himself as a giant head made of rocks and energy, with a gaping circular maw. It looks disturbingly like Ultron's face after it's half melted by the Avengers. Right before his final battle against Peter, Ego reforms his human body from the skeleton on up. For a significant time, it looks like a living anatomy lesson, with strips of muscle exposed over bone. Ultron's Prime form looks like a metal version of this.

They even have similar centers. The way the conduits stick out from Ultron's spherical "heart" looks a lot like the struts surrounding Ego's planetary core.

Finally, their mentalities are strikingly similar. They are psyschotic manchildren with god-like powers who can feel sympathy for others but cannot empathize with them. They use blue-and-orange morality in an attempt to justify their selfish actions. They convince a young powered woman to help him, and treat her like how they imagine one would treat a daughter, and fail to understand why she turns against them.

One last bit: when Ultron is first "born", the first thing he starts to say is, "Where's my body?" The question the audience should ask is, why does Ultron think he needs a body? He hasn't learned anything about humans yet; he should have a child-like belief that everyone is a disembodied program. Instead, he says it feels wierd and wrong. Later, he tells the Avengers that he was asleep, or in a dream. If he was between lives, it would likely feel that way.

• This. Is. GENIUS!
• Jossed.

The third film will introduce Bug

James Gunn has said that he likes Bug, and that he was in a previous script for the first film, so it isn't the most unlikely idea. This version of the character will will be a member of Mantis's kind and a "galactic warrior" who is serving the Priests of Pama, who are searching for Mantis. Instead of a Guardian, he'll be treated like a nuisance until becoming their friend when he helps them fight the Sovereign.

• Bug may even appear before that in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
  • Jossed. Bug does not appear in the special or film.

Kraglin will never be an official Guardian.

It's because Real Life Writes the Plot. Kraglin's actor, Sean Gunn, also does the motion reference acting for Rocket on-set. ^note  This is NOT motion capture—because a raccoon's body is so different from that of a human, there's no benefit to using motion capture as pretty much everything would have to be redone anyway. Instead, Gunn just wears normal clothes on set, and the animation team uses that footage to guide their work. This wasn't a huge problem in the first movie, where the two never interact and aren't even onscreen together except for a few very brief moments, but with Kraglin's expanded role in this movie it started to cause problems, even though the interaction between Rocket and Kraglin is still kept to a minimum. ^note  In particular, Gunn said that the shot where Rocket asks Kraglin to put some of Quill's old music on the intercom was very difficult to do because he had to deliver Rocket's line while in costume as Kraglin with his back to the camera. Of course it's true that the two characters can be onscreen together given that Rocket is entirely CGI, but the characterization of Rocket as presented in the films depends heavily on Gunn, as his work forms the basis for both the animators and Bradley Cooper, Rocket's voice actor. Because of this, Gunn can't really stop being Rocket without running the risk of changing one of Marvel's most popular Ensemble Dark Horse characters, so Kraglin will unfortunately have to remain a secondary character.

• Jossed. Even though Kraglin briefly runs off with an alien love interest, between films. Kraglin returns in Thor: Love and Thunder.
• That being said, as far as being a secondary character, in Vol. 3, when the main plot kicks off, he stays behind on Knowhere to look over things and only rejoins the action in the climax. He later becomes part of the new Guardians of the Galaxy under Rocket.

The third film will feature the Fraternity of Raptors

In the time between the second and third films, the comics relaunched and focused on 3 primary plot points. Gamora's hunt for the Soul Gem (which is heavily tied to Adam Warlock who is already confirmed for the third film), Groot's odd inability to grow beyond his sapling form, and an impending war between the Nova Corp and the Fraternity of Raptors, who have since cut all ties they once had to the Shi'ar Empire to work as their own independant unit. Marvel Legacy is even giving Darkhawk (who uses the Raptors' armor to oppose them) a brief revival to gauge interest in the character suggesting they might have bigger plans for him and the Fraternity.

• Jossed.

The third film will have a cameo from Alyssa Milano

And she'll criticize Star Lord's ship.

• Probably unlikely. Milano wasn't even aware of the homage until recently. She actually felt honored by the nod.
• Jossed.

Celestial powers are awoken by huge physical and mental events or hurdles

Puberty, for example. Or holding an Infinity Stone.

Captain Marvel will play a minor role in the third movie

As...

• A friendly ally during a battle in the opening scene
• A cameo in a montage of some sort
• Filling the role of the Nova Corps (after they likely got curbstomped by Thanos in his pursuit of the Power Stone), as the stick-in-the-mud law-enforcement figure tracking the Guardians down, amidst the main plot (Think Payton's role in Ant-Man)
  • An alternative to the above, but rather than the Guardians, she's actually interested in/tracking down Adam Warlock.
• A post-credits stinger.
  • Bonus points if she's offered a spot on either Quill or Stakar's team, but refuses.
• Jossed. Carol is absent.

Mark Hamill will play some role in the third film

He's still on good terms with Disney, as evident by his appearance in The Last Jedi, and he has talked with James Gunn about appearing in the third film, so it's not like it's completely out of the question (either as a villain or a hero). Considering Gunn has worked with other big-name actors before, it would be easy to add Hamill in, and quite frankly, the opportunity to indulge in Rule of Cool would just be too big of a chance to pass up.

• He could play the Magus.
• Jossed. Hamill does not appear.

Ego gets ret-gone out of existence with his destruction.

• Once Ego is destroyed, his extensions of himself on the planets melt, evaporate, or just straight up disintegrate, everyone who witnessed this event and survived had their memories rewritten to explain the destruction, and everything related to Ego (except for Peter Quill, obviously,) is wiped completely from existence. The only ones with any memory of him or what he's done are those that were personally involved with the event, specifically the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nebula, and even then, the whole "Expansion" becomes a mere blip in the MCU timeline, never brought up in the future unless by those personally involved. So essentially, the being who wanted to assimilate all life into himself and become everything only ends up becoming less than nothing. A fitting fate for such a fool.
• Likely Jossed.

The Infinity Stones will be revealed to still exist in the film, either as a lot point or Post Credits scene.

In the Endgame WMG page I discussed why I believe Thanos didn't destroy the Stones, just believes he did. If true a cosmic film like Guardians would be the best place to reveal their continued existence. While it could be a plot point I'd imagine not, we have finished the saga, I'd expect they'd just show up in a post credits scene (they had 5 in Guardians 2 didn't they) as an interesting footnote.

• Jossed.

The Guardians will either already have or will gain a new, bigger ship

The ship will be either an existing ship from the comics (like the Bowie introduced in the seventh issue of the Guardians series launched in 2019) or a new creation named after another female celebrity Quill may have known about, like, maybe, Pam Grier or Molly Ringwald.

• Alternately, their new ship will be Ship from the classic Star-Lord comics or in Annihilation: Conquest - Starlord #1.
• The Bowie makes it official debut in The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special!

The sequel to this movie will be a Crossover with Thor.

• Chronologically, this would not only be a sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 but also a prequel to Thor: Ragnarok, taking place either before or simultaneously with Captain America: Civil War.
• Thor and his fellow Asgardians would meet the Guardians for the first time via a casino fight.
• Adam Warlock would start off as a bad guy, but later pull a Heel–Face Turn and join both teams midway through the movie.
• Star-Lord will eventually return to Earth for the first time since his abduction, either during the climax or near the end.
• As with Vol. 2, there would be five stingers:
  • To set up Thor: Ragnarok, Big Bad Hela would whisper into the mind of a dying Odin, warning him that she will be freed as soon as he dies.
  • We will finally see how Thanos obtained the Power Stone.
  • We will also see how what happened to the Hulk after the events Avengers: Age of Ultron—he crash lands the Quinjet on Sakaar, and is captured and enslaved by the Grandmaster to become their new champion (again foreshadowing Ragnarok)
  • If the climax took place on Earth, then we would see Bucky Barnes watching the news of said battle in a bar, where he is greeted by a surprise character (doesn't matter who that one is).
  • Post-Avengers: Endgame, the entire movie will be revealed to have been a long story read by Thor, who then demands that they continue searching for 2014 Gamora, while the other Guardians insist they play a game of poker.
• None of this would work; the Guardians met Thor for the first time in Infinity War, where they have no idea who he is until he introduces himself. Not only that, but there's already a natural setup for Thor to interact with the Guardians more, since he leaves with them after Endgame. Additionally, If Adam already debuts and joins the team before Ragnarok, where the hell is he during Infinity War and Endgame? The Hulk factor doesn't need to be addressed either, since it's explained in Ragnarok. The proposed Bucky scene is also irrelevant or totally nonsensical; it's either during Civil War, where he couldn't have been at a bar, or right after it, when we know he's being cared for in Wakanda by Shuri. If the Guardians appeared on Earth, why wouldn't any of the Avengers recognize them from this supposedly huge fight, or try to go too said fight to contact Thor if he's there? Also, why would Thor care more about the missing Gamora more than them? For that matter, it has been said that searching for said Gamora will be a factor in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. Sorry if this comes across at nitpicking, but this just doesn't add up.
• The Guardians would later appear in a small crossover alongside Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder (which takes place after Avengers: Endgame).

Ego is one of the True Fae.

In fact, he is one of the most powerful of the Gentry. He is a Celestial, which is what the True Fae are called in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is heavily implied to have some sort of connection to Dormammu, who is all but outright stated to be the source of all magic in the MCU. Therefore, the Dark Dimension is Arcadia, the Mirror Dimension is the Hedge, and Dormammu is essentially the "overlord" of the Gentry and the Titular manifestation of all of Faerie. Strange became a Wizened Changeling as a result of his being exposed to Dormammu's magic by the Ancient One, who is likely either an immensely powerful Changeling, or (more likely) a fallen True Fae who lost her full divine status after developing compassion towards humanity. This is further supported by the fact that Strange and other Sorcerers practice oneiromancy, and that the world is saved by Strange making a bargain with Dormammu that he will cease his invasion on the planet and never return in exchange for release from the "Groundhog Day" Loop Strange trapped him in. This explains why Dormammu has kept his end of the bargain; he is the Wyrd, and therefore cannot break an oath he swears without being obliterated from all existence. This makes Kaecilius and his Zealots a rogue Loyalist Lost court, and by the end of that film Mordo has become an extremely militant Bridge-Burner.

As one of the True Fae, Ego is a fragment of Arcadia and the Wyrd; in other words, he is an extension of the Dark Dimension and Dormammu. However, unlike almost all of the other Gentry, Ego's essence is contained within the dimension of mortals, rather than a domain of Arcadia. This is because long ago Ego struck a bargain with Dormammu to exist in the physical plane, and the price he paid for this consisted of two items: his memories of his previous life in Faerie, and accepting the form of a physical True Name which could be killed by simple corporeal means rather than the coercion into Oath-Breaking which (aside from cold iron) is the only thing which can fully kill almost any other True Fae.

Aside from his unique status as a physical entity, Ego is a classic example of the Gentry in almost every other respect. He is solipsistic, and views himself as the only being in the entire universe with any intrinsic worth whatsoever. His covetousness is without limit, and his ethics (if he has such a thing) are an utterly alien case of Blue-and-Orange Morality. He is a Genius Loci Eldritch Abomination who can alter his domain at will, create human bodies as avatars, and is almost omnipotent on his home turf.

Ego became a physical entity so that he could satisfy a base motivation he shares with all his Gentry kin: to expand his domain and his power. He likely grew tired of constantly waging war with other True Fae for scraps of Arcadian territory, but saw that the plane of the mortals was almost entirely empty of his Fae rivals. He knew that he would put himself at incredible risk by seeking to colonize the tangible universe, but in the end he proved to be even more ambitious than he was fearful. He decided to take the gamble, and bargained with Dormammu for a physical True Name which would be uniquely vulnerable, but also capable of expanding and consuming the entire mortal plane. He also correctly wagered by giving his Arcadian memories as payment that even though he would not remember his "purpose"at first when he was reborn in the mortal plane, he would eventually remaster his powers and rediscover his reasons for coming here.

When Ego was inevitably disappointed by the other life-forms he encountered, finding that they came short of his own perceived infinite greatness, he remembered his motive for being born in a physical body. He then sent his flesh-and-blood "Angel of Pure Light" Title throughout the universe, doing something no other Gentry could do because of their lack of a physical True Name: fathering children. Every child he sired with a mortal woman was a Changeling from birth, and he sent Huntsmen to collect them and bring them to his planet. However, none were capable of providing him a "feedback loop" of Glamour, since Glamour cannot be harvested from Lost. Aside from having Fae magic in spite of having never entered Arcadia first, all of Ego's offspring were normal Changelings. Ego needed an exceptional Lost child who could do the (seemingly) impossible: act as a perpetual machine "battery" of Glamour production, which was the only way he could have enough power to enact his Expansion. The only Lost he didn't kill after having them brought to his planet, aside from Peter, was Mantis; even though she failed him as an infinite Glamour battery, her empathic powers still proved useful to him, as she could help him sleep. Mantis is likely a Beastling Playmate, or of a similar Seeming and Kith.

The reason Peter (who is a Fairest Lost) is that elusive perpetual machine of Glamour his father had been seeking for millennia is because of the nature of his conception: to an incomplete degree, Ego truly did love Meredith Quill. However, as previously mentioned, this was a mortal danger to Ego's plans and power; if a True Fae ever fully understands a human emotion such as true love, they will lose their godlike power. Ego sensed that his growing feelings for Meredith were slowly withering his powers away, and he would fall from godhood just as the Ancient One likely did. Without that power, his Expansion would no longer be possible, so he murdered Meredith before his affection for her could become complete and destroy his powers forever.

Because Fae magic is based on mortal emotion and his father (partially) felt genuine love for his mother, Peter was born as a True Fae demigod; existing on the border between being a Lost and being a Gentry. The sliver of sincere love which had resulted in his birth gave him simultaneous access to the raw reality-warming magic of the Wyrd, as well as the ability to produce Glamour with his own emotions, which is something that no other Changeling (or even True Fae) has ever possessed. Thus, Peter was the perpetual machine "battery" Ego had been seeking since the dawn of time.

Yondu was the Huntsman hired to collect Peter. A Fetch was not left in his place, even though Ego is capable of fashioning them with the ease he fashions his Kurt Russel-lookalike Title, for the simple reason that he doesn't remember that leaving Fetches is a "thing"; he sold his memories of Arcadia for his physical True Name, after all. By collecting Peter, Yondu was breaking his oath to his Huntsman court; the Ravagers "don't deal kids." The only way he could sate his conscience after becoming an Oath-Breaker was by getting Ego to swear by his Name that he would never hurt any of the kids Yondu brought to him. Even though his existence depended on him honoring his promise, Ego simply utilized Loophole Abuse by honoring his Exact Words; the death of each child who failed him was painless, so technically he never did hurt them. This is also why he was able to cause physical pain to Peter without endangering himself; Yondu never personally took Peter to Ego, and therefore Ego was not bound by their contract in Peter's case.

Once Ego had Peter and Peter had demonstrated the powers his father had been seeking, Ego attempted to lure Peter into becoming a full True Fae by persuading him to abandon all emotional ties he had to his home and to his friends. He almost succeeded, but made the fatal mistake of confessing to murdering Peter's mother- who is Peter's Touchstone. Peter immediately shot his father full of holes in quiet rage after thisrevelation, to which Ego immediately repaired his Title and briefly changed its Mask into the image of David Hasselhoff to mock him. He then forcibly stabbed him with an energy-tentacle to begin his Expansion by reaping Glamour from Peter for a thousand years. He crushed Peter's Walkman to get an extra surge of energy by filling Peter with grief.

Ego's planet now revealed to be, like every other Arcadian domain, a Hell disguised as a Heaven, the world's landscape became actively hostile to Peters motley of friends as they worked to rescue him. They were able to destroy Ego's Kurt Russell title, but this was a minor inconvenience to him at worst; he was able to swiftly replace it after subduing Peter and his allies. In the end, however, the Guardians managed to send Groot to the planet's core and attach a time bomb to Ego's physical True Name: the Brain. Panicking, Ego begged Peter to spare his life the only way a True Fae knows how: by expressing incredulity at the idea that Peter would want to be normal just like everyone else. Peter, of course, coldly answered, "What's wrong with that?" just before the bomb detonated, destroying Ego's Name. Now totally and completely killed, Ego's disappearance severed Peter's connection to the Wyrd; without his Keeper to act as an intermediary between himself and the contracts of Arcadia, Peter is no longer anything but a mere mortal forever separated from godhood.

Ego would have been an even worse villain than Thanos if not stopped

Ego had been spreading across the universe and was one of the Celestials, long before Thanos even shown up. He seems nigh-invurnerable, if not immortal in the truest sense of the word.If the Guardians would have not stopped him, he would have grown even stronger, sit out Thanos' entire life while his plan progressed and failed, and then swooped in to take over the entire galaxy until it is only Ego.If not squash Thanos himself like someone stepping on an ant.

The High Evolutionary will be reimagined as a Sovereign scientist

He will be in charge of overseeing Adam's gestation and serve as his evil mentor after his birth.

• Mostly Confirmed, though Adam is Ayesha's ward, not the High Evolutionary.

Adam Warlock will be a Kid from the Future

In the future, the Sovereign will rule most of the universe under his guidance as "Magus". However, there will be some cataclysm that he comes back in time to stop. In the end, he realizes the Sovereign aren't exactly good guys and averts the future he came from, maybe by crushing his cocoon in the present day. With his birth now an impossibility in our timeline, he becomes a point with no true chronological origin, rendering him Immune to Fate. Worried about the implications, he'll find a way to bring Thanos back to balance him out.

• Jossed.

Casting Choices for the voice of Wal Rus if he appears in Vol. 3.

• Ed Helms
• Zach Galifianakis
• Justin Bartha
• Jamie Hyneman
• Justin Long
• Billy West
• Ed O'Neill
• John DiMaggio
• Reggie Lee
• Kevin Michael Richardson
• Masi Oka
• Eric Bauza
• Michael Che
• Sean Schemmel
• Dave Coulier
• All Jossed. Asim Chaudhry plays a version of Wal Rus called "Teefs".

Ship/Aurora will appear in Vol. 3.

Aurora will either be an A.I. of the Guardians' ship a la the cartoon, or a Sapient Ship like in the comics. If she's the latter, she'll turn out to have originally been a Celestial, which got turned into a ship by the Master of the Sun who's also a Celestial here. It'll be revealed that she and Peter had history some time between being captured boy the Ravagers and stealing the Orb from Planet Morag.

• Jossed.