Summary

  • Star-Lord's return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sets up the possibility of his MCU replacement.
  • Marvel has been introducing new characters to potentially replace long-lasting heroes like Star-Lord.
  • Nova is a strong candidate to replace Star-Lord in the larger construct of the MCU and as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Star-Lord's return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe was set up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and it might be a tease for his MCU replacement. Although the Phase 5 movie is the end of James Gunn's trilogy and the last time the original Guardians of the Galaxy team will be seen together, not all the characters are exiting the franchise. Chris Pratt's days of playing Peter Quill will continue, as Guardians of the Galaxy 3's post-credits scene confirmed that the Legendary Star-Lord will return. Where that will happen is less clear.

In addition to questions about exactly when and where Star-Lord will be seen next, how long he will continue to be part of the MCU timeline is also up for debate. Marvel has made multiple moves in the years following Avengers: Endgame to introduce new MCU characters who can replace some of the longer-lasting heroes. This effort has primarily focused on the original Avengers, but it could only be a matter of time before Marvel needs to find someone to fill in for Chris Pratt's character. Marvel may have secretly teased Star-Lord's MCU replacement with the setup for his return.

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Legendary Star-Lord's MCU Return Tease Sets Up Two Future Series

James Gunn has spoken about a prospective Legendary Star-Lord movie occurring in the MCU's future, stating in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 digital commentary that "Chris and I, forever, have talked about how great it would be to be able to do a 'Legendary Star-Lord' movie - a story with Star-Lord on Earth trying to adapt to the environment of Earth in the same way that somebody else might try to adapt to the alien environment of outer space. He's a fish out of water in just kind of regular water. So I can't wait to see it." This seemingly confirms that the tease regarding Star-Lord's future will lead into this movie - but with James Gunn moving to focus on the DCU, it's also possible plans may be altered to better suit some already in-progress MCU projects.

With this in mind, Guardians of the Galaxy 3's tease that the Legendary Star-Lord will return could be part of Marvel Studios' plans for the Nova solo project in development, which most recently was reportedly going to be a Disney+ show. The tease has bigger implications than just revealing Star-Lord's new MCU name, and there are not many immediate upcoming MCU projects that would make sense for Peter Quill to appear in.

Nova is the biggest exception to that. The solo project focusing on Richard Rider's ascension as Nova would actually be the perfect place for Star-Lord to return after Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and could well see him feature even if a Star-Lord solo series is officially announced after Gunn's seeming confirmation of it.

Now that Star-Lord is back on Earth, he is perfectly positioned to encounter Richard Rider on his path to become Nova. It is not yet known exactly how the MCU will tackle Nova's origin story, but the comics began Rider's superhero story after he was recruited by Rhomann Dey, played by John C. Reilly in the first Guardians of the Galaxy.

For the purposes of the MCU, Dey could give Rider his powers following Thanos' attack on Xandar and failing to rebuild the Corps. Since Dey and Star-Lord are friendly, he could help bring Quill and Rider together, especially if he feels the latter could assist Peter in his "fish out of water" struggles.

How Nova Can Replace Star-Lord In The MCU

Richard Rider's Nova in space in Marvel Comics

While Nova will not replace Star-Lord by taking over the mantle exactly, he is still the character who is best positioned to fill the same role Peter played in the cosmic side of the franchise. For starters, Nova and Star-Lord share similar functions as humans who become massively important heroes on a galactic level.

Nova is one of the galaxy's greatest protectors in the comics and should take on a similarly prominent role following his MCU debut. That would help make Nova be Star-Lord's MCU replacement in terms of the larger construct of the shared universe, allowing Quill to either relocate to Earth entirely, or focus on some lower stakes space explorations while he tries to find himself.

Nova has also been a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy at times, and can replace Star-Lord in that capacity in the MCU's future too. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended Quill's time with the team and saw him hand control to Rocket, who formed a new Guardians of the Galaxy team. Nova might not be part of the roster at the moment, but the MCU has already shown a willingness to let the team grow. It would not be surprising then if Nova ultimately becomes Star-Lord's MCU replacement as the human lead of the group.

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