And now his watch is ended. James Gunn‘s MCU tenure comes to a close when Marvel Studios latest release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, opens this week across the globe. And as Gunn moves on from the MCU, a pair of the Guardian franchise’s key players, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldaña, have both indicated that the threequel will mark their final appearances as their respective characters. While the team has expanded over time, Drax and Gamora were part of the original group of a-holes that took the world by storm in 2014 and will be tough to replace but would anyone be tougher to replace than Chris Pratt‘s Star-Lord?
Though he’d been in the comics since 1975, most folks had no idea who Star-Lord was until Pratt brought him to life as a music-loving moron in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The character grew so popular that he became a key player in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and while his story arc is taking a bit of a backseat to Rocket’s in Vol. 3, Peter Quill is still one of the MCU’s heaviest hitters. Is there more in the tank for Star-Lord after Vol. 3?
It sure sounds like it, according to Pratt. In an interview with GamesRadar+, the star made it clear that while it might not be the same without Gunn, he’s up for reprising the role … but only under the right circumstances.
It would be strange to continue Peter’s story without James. He’s done such a masterful job in the first three films. We really found the voice of Peter Quill together and without him, obviously, I would never have had this opportunity. He writes it, he directs it, he dreams up the music, it’s his imagination on screen. So, to continue to tell the story, it would really be important to honor what he’s done in the first three films and to honor what the fans have grown to love about the character and not simply do it because people might show up to pay for it, you know?
Chris Pratt
All that being said, it’s no guarantee that we’ll see Pratt back in the role. “I don’t want to be cynical in the approach and if that’s the case, I just wouldn’t do it at all,” explained Pratt. “So maybe down the road if something makes sense I would do it but it would really have to check a lot of the right boxes,” he concluded.
Pratt certainly has no problem finding work in Hollywood but he’s also become one of the faces of the MCU. While Marvel Studios has never been much for one-to-one adaptation of comic books or comic book events, the truth is that many of Star-Lord’s greatest adventures from the pages of Marvel Comics have yet to be told in the MCU. So, depending on what plans Kevin Feige and the Parliament have in store for the Cosmic corner of the franchise, there could be plenty of action ahead for Pratt should he chose to continue in the role.
Source: GamesRadar+
More must-reads: