Guardians 3 post-credits scenes explained

Guardians 3 delivered on the promise that it would be the final movie with the current lineup of the Guardians. But its marketing campaign proved to be misleading in another aspect of the film. James Gunn promised that Guardians Vol. 3 will feature multiple deaths, and it did. But they weren’t the ones that fans were led to believe.

Disclaimer: The following article contains spoilers from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The ending of Guardians 3 separated almost all the old members of the squad. Peter is seen leaving the team and traveling to Earth. The new Gamora variant continues to lead the Ravagers. Nebula becomes the leader of Knowhere. Drax adopts a few hybrid kids from Counter-Earth and retires. And even Mantis goes off on her own journey of self-exploration.

But the fate of Rocket and Groot is revealed in the post-credits scenes, which set up the future of the Guardians within the MCU. Similar to almost every MCU movie, Vol. 3 also has two post-credits scenes. One between the credits, and the second one arrives at the end.

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Guardians 3 mid-credits scene features Guardians 2.0

Rocket Raccoon and Cosmo the Spacedog in Guardians 3 (Image via Marvel)

Before the movie came out, it was confirmed that a new lineup of the Guardians will be formed by the end of the film. The mid-credits scene reveals all the members of this line-up, which will be led by Rocket Raccoon. In the original Guardians team, he was always the second in command. So, he becomes the de facto leader of Guardians 2.0.

In his new team, we find an interesting blend of old and new members. His most obvious right-hand individual turns out to be Groot. Surprisingly enough, Sean Gunn’s Kraglin also stays as a Guardian, having perfected Yondu’s Yaka arrow. Along with him, Maria Bakalova’s Cosmo the Spacedog also continues to tag along with the squad.

Kai Zen as Phyla-Vell in Guardians 3 (Image via Marvel)

Then comes the first new member, which was always expected to be Adam. He started off as the villain but teamed up to take down The High Evolutionary towards the end of Guardians 3. He also picks up the alien pet Blurp to become Disney’s next merchandising cash cow among the next-gen Guardians.

The final member of the new Guardians team is revealed to be a new character Phyla-Vell, played by young actor Kai Zen. She is a Titan-Kree hybrid in the comics. But here, she is yet to grow into her comic-book counterpart. We are also supposed to see her in The Marvels.

Together, this team of Guardians 2.0 carries an amazing set of abilities as Rocket becomes the leader and brains, while Groot adds a lot of muscle. Kraglin’s ability to control the Yaka arrow makes him a crucial member and Cosmo’s telekinesis adds a nice dynamic. Then, the likes of Adam and Phyla really bolster the strength of Guardians 2.0 and make them next to unbeatable.

Together, this new team of misfits goes on a mission to a desert planet to fight a hoard of aliens, and the mid-credits scene comes to an end. Now, we’ll see these characters return in future cosmic events.

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The post-credits scene gives Quill some closure

Star-Lord in Guardians 3 (Image via Marvel)

Earth has played a small but important part in the last two Guardians movies. So, it made sense for Guardians 3 to include Earth as well. The franchise began with Peter getting abducted from Earth back in 1988. Now it comes to a beautiful end with Peter going back to Earth.

In the final scene, he reunites with his grandfather and decides to live on Earth for a bit. And then we see the ending text of the movie which says: "The Legendary Star-Lord will return."

Peter Quill has only been on Earth once in over three decades, and that happened in Avengers: Endgame. But now fans are happy that he is back on the planet at least for the foreseeable future. This move was sort of predictable and yet many fans wanted it to happen because it opens up the possibility of Star-Lord appearing in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

He is ready to team up with the likes of Captain America and Captain Marvel among others. And with that, the next Avengers squad will actually have three great leaders in it.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hits theaters on May 2, 2025.