Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has been one of Square Enix's greatest successes of 2021, and many fans are hopeful for a sequel in the near future. Marvel's GOTG leaned into both the MCU and comic inspiration for character development and introduction while retaining a healthy portion of originality. One of the reasons why Marvel's GOTG has been so successful is because developer Eidos-Montréal took the modern Guardians of the Galaxy and gave every character a reason to exist, even when they weren't present. Many games that take inspiration from other sources run the risk of assuming every character is partially known through pop-culture. However, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a complete story that could be played by someone who had never heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy beforehand, and they'd receive a comprehensive origin story for every character.
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.]
Furthermore, from the actual development side, the Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy game will receive no DLC or microtransactions, according to a pre-release interview conducted by Stevivor. As players complete every side objective and interact with every Guardian aboard the Milano, it becomes apparent that there are many stories or plot lines that have been left open for future exploration. For example, Drax confides in Star-Lord that he might not have killed Thanos, Star-Lord is the reason Yondu Udonta is locked in prison, Nebula's death is shrouded in ambiguity. With so many big-ticket characters left out of the first Marvel's GOTG game, it's likely they'll all be part of a sequel.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy wrapped up in a way that made everything seem like it was going to work out just find for the crew. Although the GOTG post-credit scene sets up a sequel that will undoubtedly fine Star-Lord struggling to fill a parent-role to Nikki Gold, the end of the game sees the Guardians come together, finally, after a long journey. What was once a rag-tag group of individuals now falls in line under Star-Lord's leadership, and in-game dialogue reinforces the team's unification from chapter 13 onward. However, for the aforementioned reasons regarding Thanos, Nebula, and Yondu, a sequel to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy should continue to test the team's durability as a group.
Yondu's Involvement In Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
Before the start of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord and Yondu met in a Chitauri prison two years after Star-Lord was abducted from Earth on his 13th birthday. This was an original plot device, and a major difference between Star-Lord in the MCU and Marvel's GOTG. Star-Lord and Yondu became cellmates in the prison, and together the two devised a plan to escape. Star-Lord joined Yondu and the Ravagers for a long-time before leaving to fight in the Galactic War, but he would return once the war was over. However, Yondu abducted a twelve-year-old child, a line that Star-Lord couldn't cross. Star-Lord actually betrayed Yondu for this decision, and is the reason Yondu is locked away in the Kyln prison during Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. This is the same prison used by the Nova Corps in the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and being an opportunist, Yondu most likely escaped during the confusion with Magus and his near-galactic take over.
While Yondu could be a good character in a Marvel's GOTG sequel, it's more than likely that he'll seek out Star-Lord for revenge. The degree to which this becomes a major plot point is hard to predict, but as big-ticket character it's hard to imagine that Yondu's role in Marvel's GOTG 2 would be anything short of Lady Hellbender's importance in the first game. Theoretically, anyone who is willing to kidnap a twelve-year-old child for profit is willing to do anything to get revenge, so it's likely Yondu may exploit the care Star-Lord has for the Guardians. The ties between each of the Guardians is strong at the end of Marvel's GOTG, arguably as strong as the relationship between Groot and Rocket at the start of the game. Players were presented with the decision to sell either Rocket or Groot to Lady Hellbender in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Yondu could force Star-Lord to make a similar choice with any of the Guardians.
Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy 2: Nebula, Thanos, & The Infinity Stones
Although Thanos and Nebula were not in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy directly, the two had huge influence over the plot of the game. The universe was convinced that Thanos was killed in the Galactic War by Drax, and aside from the Guardians, Gamora presumably told no one that she had killed Nebula. The death of her sister haunted Gamora, but it also drove her desire to stop Raker and the Universal Church of Truth from taking advantage of children. However, Drax believes Thanos is still alive in the universe, and there is a very real chance that Nebula is alive in Marvel's GOTG as well.
When Gamora revealed that she killed Nebula, her words were, "The Nebula I knew had been twisted into a hateful, vengeful, monster-thing. One who would never stop unless I stopped her. So I did. I just never expected to survive." Every bit of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is detailed, even the Easter eggs, so it's hard to believe that Nebula was killed by Gamora if it wasn't directly stated. With these particular words, it's far more likely that Gamora left Nebula for dead rather than delivering the final blow herself. Given the resilience of Nebula's character in the comics, where Marvel's GOTG ultimately receives much of its character inspiration from, it's possible that Nebula survived the encounter and is somewhere in the universe. Furthermore, it's possible she and Thanos will return in a Marvel's GOTG sequel.
Through his Guardian collectibles, Drax reveals to Star-Lord that sorcerers bestowed a gift upon him to sense Thanos' presence anywhere in the universe. During the Galactic War, Drax and Thanos had fought for days until the two both collapsed from exhaustion. Drax woke up in the care of the resistance, hailed as hero, but Thanos' body was never recovered. Drax still feels the same presence of Thanos that he felt before the first time they fought. It's clear that both Thanos and Nebula were critically injured in their final fights, so keeping a low profile throughout Marvel's GOTG is the perfect alibi. The outcome of both fights are likely plot devices used to build up Nebula and Thanos for a sequel to Marvel's GOTG.
Amidst the chaos and confusion of the Church's rise, a hidden Nebula and Thanos are likely working together in some capacity. Although the chances are faint, it's possible that Thanos and Nebula are attempting to gather the Infinity Stones for themselves. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy already introduced the Soul Stone, which sets the stage for the other five to be introduced. What Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2 could be about is preventing Thanos and Nebula from retrieving the Infinity Stones. If somehow the Guardians fail, and Marvel's GOTG 2 ends with Thanos or Nebula in power of all six stones, there may be a Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 3 somewhere down the line that focuses on undoing whatever chaos the pair wrought.