Marvel Introduced Its Best Guardians of The Galaxy Replacement Too Soon

Marvel introduced its best Guardians of the Galaxy replacement several years too soon when it brought the original team into the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In Marvel Comics, Star-Lord's Guardians isn't the first iteration of the group. The first Guardians team debuted in the late 1960s and was made up of a diverse band of superheroes from the future.

Instead of focusing on them, Marvel chose to center the Guardians of the Galaxy movies on the team that was established in the 2000s. In 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, audiences were introduced to Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Groot (Vin Diesel), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Drax (Dave Bautista). This group, which consisted of mostly obscure comic book heroes, soon became fan-favorites and even appeared outside their franchise with roles in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Some of them may even appear in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Regardless, an end is in sight for Star-Lord's Guardians of the Galaxy. James Gunn, who directed the first two films and is returning to direct the third installment, has confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will provide a proper ending for Star-Lord and his friends. A fourth Guardians of the Galaxy movie can still happen, but it would have to be with a new team. Looking at what Marvel is doing with its other characters, this plan makes sense. As Marvel has had to move on from its main Avengers lineup, a similar strategy will likely be taken with the cosmic side of the MCU. Marvel may continue making Guardians of the Galaxy movies, but which group of space heroes should get the spotlight? Unfortunately, the best solution - the original Guardians - have been introduced too soon and may no longer be a feasible replacement.

The Original Guardians Of The Galaxy In Marvel Comics

The original Guardians of the Galaxy are based in the distant future. Serving on the main roster was Vance Astro (a mutant who carries Captain America's shield), Martinex (an alien who can project hot and cold energy from his hands), Charlie-27 (a super soldier from Jupiter), Yondu (a deeply religious alien inspired by Native Americans), and Starhawk aka Stakar, a mysterious and powerful being who literally shared the same physical space as his wife, Aleta Ogord. For years, Starhawk and Aleta Ogord couldn't be present at the same time.

The group, which starred in their own comic in the early 1990s, spent their time traveling through the galaxy on a ship called the Captain America, which was given this name by Vance Astro. In the comics, Astro has strong parallels to Captain America - someone who he idolized his entire life. As a young man, Astro became an astronaut and went on a one-man mission into space to find a new planet. He was placed in suspended animation, but by the time he woke up, the planet was already colonized, and a thousand years had passed. Like his childhood hero, Astro held on to outdated ideals and helped form a team of superheroes, eventually becoming their leader.

Marvel Introduced The Original Team In Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Sylvester Stallone in Guardians 2 as Starhawk

The original Guardians of the Galaxy team was adapted to the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In the movie, Yondu (Michael Rooker) is angrily confronted by Stakar (Sylvester Stallone), who is the leader of the Ravagers and a former friend. It's revealed that they used to be part of a team of warriors, which included Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum). One of the many Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 post-credits scenes unveils the full team, which consists of Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Krugarr, and Mainframe (voiced by Miley Cirus). Aleta and Stakar both have very little in common with their comic book counterparts, though. In this scene, Stakar and the Ravagers decide to reunite in an effort to honor Yondu, who redeemed himself after dying by saving Star-Lord.

Vance Astro's Guardians Could Have Led Their Own MCU Movie

Original Guardians of the Galaxy Vance Astro Charlie-27 Yondu Starhawk Martinex

If handled correctly, the original Guardians of the Galaxy team could have kicked off another cosmic trilogy by being the protagonists of Guardians of the Galaxy 4, but their early MCU debut in the second film hurts the chances of that ever happening. Though they could easily be back for more cameos in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it's hard to imagine them being the main characters of their own movie. First of all, a fourth Guardians of the Galaxy film will tell a new story, so it's likely that the movie will center on new heroes, as opposed to previously introduced characters played by older actors. In this way, Marvel can introduce and develop these characters for whatever story is written for Guardians of the Galaxy 4, without having to work around what was established in the second movie.

This is disappointing news for fans of Vance Astro's Guardians, as they could have been the perfect candidates for Marvel's next space-based superhero team. Since the Guardians live in the 31st century, they could have sent the MCU into unexplored territory, but the future aspect of their story has been taken away. Over the course of over 20 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone in all sorts of unique directions, but the future is one place it hasn't gone yet. Also, the heroes themselves are inherently different to Star-Lord's team. The current team are mostly rogues, but the original Guardians are full-fledged heroes. That being said, they're a diverse bunch who all have their share of problems. They have everything that the next team of Guardians needs.

How The Original Guardians' Story Can Still Be Told

Despite what happened in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is there any way the original Guardians of the future can still have their story represented on the big screen? It is possible that it could still happen, but some major changes to the source material (and the characters) would have to be made for it to work. It's important to point out that, when the movie introduced the original team, it excluded Vance Astro himself, the main protagonist of the 1990s Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series.

Furthermore, Vance Astro won't appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 either. This means that Guardians of the Galaxy 4 can begin an all-new story with Vance Astro as its main hero. But, he'd be without his supporting cast, which means no Starhawk, Yondu, Charlie-27, or his love interest, Aleta Ogord. To solve this problem, Marvel could bring in other, lesser known members of the team (like Nikki), or include cosmic characters who have no connection at all with the original Guardians. The movie could still focus on Vance Astro's journey in the future, but the people around him would have to be different. Either way, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has certainly made it more difficult for Vance Astro's Guardians to get their own cosmic movie, but it's not necessarily impossible for their story to still be told.

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