Chris Pratt Confirms Star-Lord’s MCU Return Is in the Works: “You’ll See Star-Lord Again”
When ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ wrapped up the team’s story, it left Peter Quill on Earth with his grandfather and the old crew heading separate ways. The final moments of the film also carried a short but unmistakable promise on screen, “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return.”
That line has been hanging over Marvel fans ever since, and the wait has stretched past 3 years. Star-Lord has appeared across 6 films, from the first ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ through ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, and then he went quiet. Each time Chris Pratt has been asked about a comeback, he has stayed careful and vague.
Now Pratt has given the clearest answer yet, and it goes past teasing. Speaking to The Playlist on The Bingeworthy podcast while promoting Season 2 of ‘The Terminal List’, he said, “I have a great relationship with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito], and there have been both ongoing conversations about how we make good on that promise and also hard action taken to make sure that we make good on that promise.” He then added, “You’ll see Star-Lord again, which is very exciting, but I’m not at liberty to say when that’s going to be, but he’s not going anywhere.”
The key detail is the phrase “hard action”. Pratt isn’t describing a vague hope or a general openness to the idea, which is what he has offered before. He is saying Marvel Studios has already moved beyond conversation, even though he won’t say what that action is or when the payoff arrives. Marvel Studios declined to comment.
The timing of his remarks also matters, because it follows comments from earlier this year about a pitch he made to Feige. Pratt said he has a strong vision for where Star-Lord could go and that he wants to help shape the next stretch of Marvel storytelling. This latest interview suggests those conversations may have gone somewhere.
The next big Marvel release is ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which hits theaters in December. Pratt hasn’t been announced as part of the cast, and he joked earlier this year about his chair being missing from the film’s cast reveal. The directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, have teased that more stars will return.
Many fans believe the better fit is ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, which follows in December of next year. One scooper has also claimed Star-Lord will appear in that film, though Marvel hasn’t confirmed it. Pratt’s comments don’t point to a specific project, so a solo outing or a return alongside a new Guardians lineup remains possible.
There’s also the question of who would guide a standalone story. Pratt has said he would love for James Gunn to direct a Star-Lord movie in a dream scenario, but he admitted that is unlikely now that Gunn runs DC Studios with Peter Safran. Gunn himself has talked about imagining a story of Quill adjusting to life on Earth.
The promise in the credits wasn’t a random choice of words. “The Legendary Star-Lord” is also the name of a short-lived 2015 comic run written by Sam Humphries with art by Paco Medina, which followed Quill after he left the Guardians. That gives Marvel plenty of source material if it wants to build something around the idea.
The 4-minute opening of ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3’ has been officially released online by the VFX company Sarofsky. Read our review: https://t.co/kHOWOfMOZw https://t.co/gmBkZRcKCT
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) May 24, 2023
For now, fans have a firm confirmation and no date. It’s a frustrating mix, but it is more than Pratt has been willing to say in the past.
Where do you most want to see Peter Quill make his MCU comeback?
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