Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats this past May as the Guardians took on their biggest challenge yet. Star Lord had to find and lose both of his fathers, Gamora had to battle her vengeful sister, Rocket had to be friendly with Yondu, Baby Groot had to deal with the challenges of growing up, and Drax had to teach Mantis lessons of humanity that he has yet to master.
After each of the characters conquered their inner struggles, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 developed into a truly amazing movie that left fans all over the world wanting more.
The fans’ wishes were granted, though, as director, James Gunn recently announced the Guardians will be back again forGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sometime in 2020. Although the movie is still three years away, Gunn is already dropping hints about the film and where the Guardian’s adventure will take us.
Some of these hints are direct, but most of them have been extremely cryptic and enigmatic. These mysteries have caused fans to analyze every little post, tweet, and comment Gunn has ever typed and every word, syllable, and letter he’s uttered, just so they can get a small glimpse into Volume 3’s storyline.
So, get ready to unravel the mystery because here are the 17 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Fan Theories That Make Too Much Sense.
Rocket Was Created by Thanos
At Hasbro HASCON 2017, James Gunn promised fans that we will learn more about Rocket’s backstory in the coming sagas. He said, “It’s going to be a little different from the comics… It’s a little bit more horrible.”
Gunn also revealed that Rocket’s origins were subtly referenced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which has sparked many theories.
In Vol. 2, Nebula goes into gruesome detail about how Thanos tore her to pieces and put her back together after each failed battle against Gamora. This is oddly reminiscent of the time Rocket talks about his own creation in Vol. 1. Could the Mad Titan be Rocket’s creator?
Another theory suggests Rocket was part of a NASA experiment gone wrong and he ended up in Sakaar with the Grandmaster. This explains Grandmaster’s cameo in Vol. 2 and why Cosmo the Russian Astro-dog growls at Rocket – they’re space rivals.
Mantis is Ego’s Daughter and Peter Quill’s Sister
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we’re introduced to Peter Quill’s father and learn more about his parent’s relationship. However, could we have also met another member of his family?
In the movie, Mantis tells the Guardians that Ego found her in a larva state on her home planet. However, what was Ego doing on her planet? Considering his motives and his desire to find his celestial offspring, could he have been there searching for her?
Although Ego kills his children when they don’t possess celestial powers, he could have changed his mind when he found out that Mantis had abilities that were beneficial to him.
Family is a huge theme throughout the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so it could make complete sense for Peter to lose a father and gain a sister. Maybe this potential relationship could play a key role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Drax Will Not Survive to Be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
As you probably know, Dave Bautista started his career as a world-renowned wrestler. Although he retired in 2014, many sources are reporting that he is seriously considering a full-time WWE return. This is great news for wrestling followers, but it could be a huge disappointment for Bautista’s MCU fans.
Bautista has yet to comment on the reports. However, his return to wrestling could translate to devastating doom for Drax in Avengers: Infinity War or the untitled Avengers 4 movie.
Drax will no doubt have a huge role in the movies, based on his relationship with Thanos and his motive to avenge his family.
Therefore, there is definitely a way to kill him off should Bautista’s wrestling contract interferes with his MCU role.
Ultimately, contracts are stronger than Infinity Stones, so this could be the one thing that pushes Drax the Destroyer towards his demise.
The Guardians Will Travel to Knowhere to Regain Star Lord’s Powers
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego dies and therefore takes away Peter’s source of power. However, according to one theory, there’s still a powered part of Ego hanging out in the universe.
The space coordinates that are shown in Guardians movies can be translated into hidden clues by swapping out the numbers for alphabet letters (A =1, Z =26). Based on this cipher, the coordinates for Earth spell out “Shh,” Dark Aster reveals the phrase “This is Moms Cancer,” and Knowhere’s coordinates are “Meredith Quill X.”
Fans have translated the last phrase to mean “Meredith Quill’s Ex,” and ultimately point to another location of Ego’s celestial body. Knowhere is home to a severed celestial head which could be an old part of Ego. If this is true, we might see the Guardians heading to Knowhere in Vol. 3 to regain Peter’s powers.
Drax’s Daughter Will Be a Part of the Black Order
Drax is constantly seeking revenge against Thanos for the death of his wife and daughter. However, what if Ronan the Accuser never killed Kamaria?
Some fans believe that Drax’s “dead” daughter Kamaria is actually Proxima Midnight of the Black Order. Ronan didn’t kill her but instead took her to Thanos, who adopted her and made her into his own soldier.
This isn’t that far off from the comics, where Kamaria is still alive under the pseudo, Moondragon.
According to this theory, Marvel is expected to combine the Moonddragon storyline and that of Proxima Midnight to set Drax up for a battle against Thanos in Infinity War.
With the Black Order already confirmed to be in the movie, it could be the entire reason why the Guardians team up with the Avengers.
The Only Reason Peter Has Powers is Because Yondu Saved Him
Yondu was delivering many children to Ego for them to be assessed for powers and ultimately killed. However, the one kid he decides not to hand over just happens to be the only one with celestial powers? This sounds like too much of a coincidence to be true and therefore, one Reddit user came up with a theory to make sense of the situation.
The theory states that celestial powers don’t develop until puberty. Yondu was simply delivering the other kids too young and therefore they never expressed their celestial powers.
The mere fact that Yondu saved Peter Quill allowed the kid to reach puberty and develop his celestial powers. So, according to this theory, Yondu saving Peter’s life is ultimately what put him on Ego’s radar.
Doctor Strange Will Help Groot Grow
James Gunn rocked the world when he recently revealed that Baby Groot is not a reincarnated version of Groot, but actually his son. However, one mystery still exists – how does Baby Groot grow up so fast?
In the Infinity War trailer, we get a glimpse of Groot and he isn’t a baby anymore. According to James Gunn, he prefers to be called an “adolescent." However, with Infinity War taking place only four years after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, people are making up theories as to how Baby Groot is aging so quickly.
One theory states that Doctor Strange will use the time stone to speed up Baby Groot’s growth so that he can help the Guardians fight Thanos.
Then there’s another theory that suggests that Baby Groot is an extraterrestrial tree and simply ages faster than normal humans.
Mark Hamill Will Play a Ravager
In February 2018, a fan tweeted James Gunn and asked him to find Mark Hamill a role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Well, apparently the universe works in mysterious ways and the force may answer the fan’s request.
James Gunn tweeted back and said that Hamill lives around the corner from him and they’ll have a chat about it. Hamill responded, saying that he’d be happy to be in the movie and the two agreed to DM about the possibility.
It doesn’t seem like it would be hard to find a role for the beloved Luke Skywalker actor, but it’s fun to theorize what it will be. Some people have already started the conversation and a couple of fan favorites include Bug, Firelord, and Pip Troll.
Nebula Will Become Supergiant
The appearance of the Black Order in Infinity War was confirmed at D23 when each member’s costume was revealed. However, there was one crucial member missing from the reveal: Supergiant.
The omission of Supergiant from the movie has struck many fans as odd, and whenever this happens, there’s bound to be an abundance of theories surrounding the confusion.
One such theory suggests that Supergiant was not revealed because she has already been introduced in the MCU.
The Black Order is thought to consist of Thanos’ children and therefore, Nebula could assume the role of Supergiant in the upcoming movies.
Although she seemed to change for the better in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she could potentially still be pining for daddy’s love. This could cause her to join the Black Order and fight on his side. She is also blue and looks somewhat like Supergiant in the comics.
Adam Warlock Will Be a Villain in the Movie
The appearance of Adam Warlock in the MCU has been teased for years. Many rumors suggest that he will be introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but this is yet to be confirmed.
James Gunn has even said that “despite so many people thinking Adam will show up in Vol. 3 that is something that we have never confirmed. Who knows how long it will take him to bake in that cocoon."
However, Adam Warlock is related to the Soul Stone and will most likely be introduced sooner rather than later. There is one rumor going around that states Warlock will originally be introduced into the universe as a villain.
He could potentially be one of the major villains in Vol. 3 and start off hunting the Guardians. At the end of the movie, he may switch sides just like Nebula.
The Original Guardians Will Feature in the Movie
James Gunn has yet to direct a movie without Michael Rooker and was skeptical about signing on for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 simply because Yondu died in Vol. 2. However, there is a way that Yondu could still feature in the movie and continue Gunn and Rooker’s tradition.
In order to continue the trend, fans believe that Gunn will prominently feature Yondu in flashbacks during Vol. 3. Both Guardians of the Galaxy movies have opened with scenes set in the past. Therefore, it is likely that the opening scene of Vol. 3 will feature Yondu and his fellow Ravagers.
There have been rumors that the original Guardians, who were led by Sylvester Stallone’s Stakar Ogord, could be playing a bigger role in the MCU.
Some believe that we will learn more about this team in Vol. 3. Therefore, Yondu could very well re-appear for the next installment of the series.
Thanos Will Resurrect Ronan the Accuser
There are rumors that Thanos will showcase the powers of the Infinity Stones by resurrecting some dead MCU villains in Infinity War. One of the villains on the top of this list would be Ronan the Accuser.
Although Ronan ultimately betrayed him, fans think that Thanos could resurrect him simply to have the last word. Thanos could also need Ronan as a last-ditch effort to fight off the Guardians or use him to go back to Xandar and retrieve the Power Stone from Nova Corps.
Regardless of the reason for Ronan’s resurrection, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble for the Guardians should he be brought back to life. He could also create tension if he is resurrected in Infinity War and survives to torture the Guardians in Vol. 3.
Quasar, Kitty Pryde, or Venom Will Join the Guardians
On June 12th, 2017, James Gunn posted a random and cryptic message on Twitter. It said, “For some reason, I’m just remembering now that as a kid my family’s VCR had wood paneling” and included the image of the VCR above. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll see that it’s a Quasar VCR.
Gunn was working on the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 script and many fans have taken this to mean Gunn will add Quasar into the upcoming movie.
Fans have also theorized that Kitty Pryde will be in the movie because there are rumors that she will have a standalone movie due to Disney’s acquisition of Fox.
The acquisition has also sparked rumors that Venom could be added to Vol. 3, seeing how he also has a standalone coming out this year and because he was a member of the Guardians in the comics.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Are Just the Avengers Playing Dungeons & Dragons
Have you ever wondered what the Avengers do when they’re not saving the world? Well, apparently, they get together and play Dungeons & Dragons.
According to this theory, the Guardians aren’t heroes, but rather the result of a roleplaying game played by the Avengers.
Tony Stark is the character Star Lord, the version of Tony who hadn’t been born rich. They’re both sarcastic, fancy the ladies, like old music, and are tech gurus.
Thor would be Drax, since they’re both ignorant of the realities of life and Earth culture. Then, Black Widow would be Gamora, a master assassin raised from childhood, and Hawkeye would pick Yondu, a character who controls arrows by whistling.
This theory would explain why the Guardians have some interesting battle choices, such as distracting Ronan with dancing and musical prowess. They’re simply rolling these decisions with the Dungeons & Dragons dice.
Groot Was Created From a Piece of the Yggdrasil Tree
The Yggdrasil tree is the world tree that holds the nine realms together. It is referenced in the first Thor movie when Thor draws the tree of Jane Foster and can also be found carved into the wall where Red Skull finds the Tesseract and the door where Heimdall hides the Asgardians from Hela.
Fans enjoy finding it throughout Avengers movies, but we may be missing its biggest Easter egg yet.
Reddit user WaffleTerritory suggests that Groot is actually made from a piece of the Yggdrasil tree. Red Skull calls the Yggdrasil Tree the “guardian of wisdom and faith,” which could also reference Groot, a Guardian of the Galaxy.
According to WaffleTerritory, Groot was planted specifically to be a guardian over the Guardians.
This theory could also explain why the Nova Corp’s criminal record for Groot says “Origin: X.”
Doug from Thor: Ragnarok is Drax
In Thor: Ragnarok, Korg constantly talks about a Doug who died in the Grandmaster’s Arena. However, who exactly was Doug?
Little is known about Drax’s origin story except that his wife and daughter were murdered. This has left fans wanting more, and eventually someone created a story that connects Drax to Doug.
In the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, Drax became a gladiator in an arena that looks similar to the Grandmaster’s arena. In this arena, the winner got the opportunity to serve Ronan the Accuser, which would have allowed Drax to complete his vengeful mission.
In order to win, Drax keeps his identity a secret by changing his name and wearing heavy armor.
Could this have translated into the Grandmaster’s Arena? Drax could have changed his name to Doug in order to fight his nemesis. Doug does look eerily like Drax without the red markings on his body.
All the Guardians Will Die in Volume 3
James Gunn said, “One of the things I’m doing with creating Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – that will take place after the next two Avengers movies – and it will help to set up the next 10-20 years of Marvel Movies. It’s going to really expand the universe. We’re going to be setting up new characters. It will be the last movie of this version of the Guardians of the Galaxy”.
Over the past couple of months, Gunn has reiterated many times that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last time we see the current Guardians team.
So, what will happen to them?
One of the craziest theories is that all of the Guardians will die in either Infinity War, Avengers 4, or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This would fulfill Gunn’s goal and allow the next phase of the MCU to start fresh.
Have you heard of any other fan theories that would hype us up for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Let us know in the comments!
