After being among the most integral figures in the Infinity Saga, the Guardians of the Galaxy haven’t played as big of a role in the Multiverse Saga. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 left the team in a very different state, as the core members all set out on their own paths. To illustrate just how much things have changed, the film’s closing title card noted that just Star-Lord (not the Guardians as a whole) would return. Three years after that promise, fans are still waiting for Marvel to deliver on it, and now Chris Pratt has touched on his character’s future.
Speaking with Screentime, Pratt was asked which of his iconic roles he’d love to return to. He immediately went to the MCU. “We made a promise with Guardians of the Galaxy that Star-Lord would return,” he said. “I think I would really love to make good on that promise.” Pratt also played along with the interviewer’s humorous pitch for a Star-Lord solo movie called Star-Lord Assemble Music Mission.
Will Star-Lord Return In Avengers: Doomsday?
The prospect of a Star-Lord solo movie is unlikely, and the same can be said for a fourth Guardians of the Galaxy film. However, there are still spots on Marvel’s upcoming slate where Peter Quill could pop up. The most obvious ones are the two Avengers movies that are on the horizon. With Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars set to feature a plethora of characters from a variety of alternate realities (covering just about every corner of big-screen Marvel adaptations), it would seem odd if the showdown against Doctor Doom came and went without any appearance from Star-Lord.
Pratt was notably not one of the actors listed during the record-breaking Doomsday cast reveal livestream that took place last year. As we saw with the “Steve Rogers will return” teaser, that doesn’t mean Pratt isn’t in the film, but there’s evidence that he’s sitting this one out. While Avengers: Doomsday was in production, Pratt reportedly had a scheduling conflict, as he was said to be filming a new season of his TV show The Terminal List. The possibility of him returning for Doomsday remains on the table until the film has been released (Pratt could have always connected with the Russo brothers to shoot something when he had free time), but from the sound of things, Star-Lord won’t be in Doomsday.
Though Star-Lord is a fan-favorite character, that might be for the best. Doomsday already has a lot on its plate, balancing multiple superhero teams while introducing a new main villain in Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. If there isn’t a large enough role for Star-Lord, it would arguably be better to just keep the character on the sidelines for now. He’s been such an important part of the MCU for over a decade, so it would be disappointing if he had what amounted to a glorified cameo in such a big event movie. Marvel should only bring the character back if there’s substantial material for Pratt to handle.
In that respect, the safer bet might be on Star-Lord returning in Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s possible some characters in Doomsday die, which would create voids in the ensemble that someone like Pratt could fill. And with Secret Wars set to be a soft reset of the MCU as a whole, it would be great to get Pratt in one more time for what potentially could be Star-Lord’s sendoff. There are many instances of Marvel failing to deliver on tantalizing teases from post-credits scenes, but ideally Star-Lord’s return will buck that trend.
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