What Is the Legendary Star-Lord?
Editor's note: The following article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, James Gunn says goodbye to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with style. The movie pushes the boundaries of what can be done inside the MCU by exploring surprisingly dark themes. All the while, every core member of the Guardians gets enough closure to justify their definitive departure from the franchise or for them to be reused in brand-new storylines created by other filmmakers. However, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is about tying up loose threads, the movie ends with a huge warning that the Legendary Star-Lord will return right after showing how Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is chilling on Earth and leading a regular human life. So, who is the Legendary Star-Lord? And what do these words mean for the future of the MCU?
What Is the Legendary Star-Lord?
Written by Sam Humphries with art by Paco Medina, Legendary Star-Lord was a short-lived comic book series that followed Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, going solo after he leaves the Guardians of the Galaxy. The series primarily deals with Quill’s complicated family history, as he’s chased by his father, J’son, the former King of Spartax, a planetary system that frequently goes to war against the Kree and the Skrull. In Marvel Comics, Peter Quill has a different family tree than the MCU. Still, both versions of Peter Quill deal with megalomaniac fathers whose hunger for powers threatens to destroy the universe. So, while Gunn decided to make Ego (Kurt Russell) Quill’s father in the MCU, he kept exploring Star-Lord's legacy.
Running through twelve issues, Legendary Star-Lord allowed Peter Quill to grow as a character by taking away the support of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The series also introduced the classic Star-Lord uniform that Gunn used as inspiration for the MCU version of the character. Finally, in the pages of Legendary Star-Lord, Quill began a long-distance relationship with Kitty Pride, aka Shadowcat, a fan-favorite member of the X-Men. The two would also fight together during the “Secret Wars” storyline, in which reality was almost destroyed when different timelines crashed over each other. After that, Kitty would take over the mantle of Star-Lord and lead the Guardians, while Quill would become Emperor of Spartax.
Of course, a lot is going on in Legendary Star-Lord, as the comic book series is just one chapter of Peter Quill’s long comic book history. However, this summary helps to understand how important this series was for establishing Peter Quill as one of the most critical players in Marvel’s galactic game. And since Marvel Studios doesn’t like to leave anything to chance, by including a nod to Legendary Star-Lord, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 could be teasing the coming of some exciting storylines.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Might Be Teasing Battleworld & Kitty Pride
Of course, it’s not possible for the MCU to directly adapt the Legendary Star-Lord storyline since the MCU character has absolutely no relation with Spartax. Still, there are a lot of elements from this comic book run that Marvel Studios could use. For starters, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Quill finally accepts that his relationship with Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) is over. Moreover, Quill is forced to face the fact that he has jumped from relationship to relationship without ever learning to be alone. So, by giving Star-Lord a solo storyline, the MCU can allow Quill to keep growing as a character.
In addition, by announcing they will take inspiration from the Legendary Star-Lord storyline, Marvel Studios might be telling fans they’ll soon add Kitty Pride to the MCU. Since Quill and Kitty's history is so intertwined in the comic books, a Legendary Star-Lord movie or TV show could be the perfect excuse to introduce the fan-favorite Mutant. So far, the MCU has steered away from dealing with Mutankind as a homogenous group and is instead adding individual Mutants to different movies and series. Of course, Deadpool 3 might speed up the process. But if the idea is to find the proper storyline for each Mutant to show up for the first time, then a Legendary Star-Lord adaptation is the perfect excuse to give us some Kitty Pride.
Finally, since the Legendary Star-Lord comic book run serves as a prelude to the “Secret Wars” event, the MCU could be teasing how Quill will show up again when the Avengers end up in Battleworld. During the “Secret Wars” events, the Incursion of every different timeline nearly destroys the Multiverse. As a result of this cataclysmic event, regions of different versions of the world are stitched together into a new planet called Battleworld, where Variants of heroes and villains fight for control. Since Marvel Studios is already dealing with Incursions and multiple timelines in the MCU, and there’s even an Avengers: Secret Wars movie set to be released in 2026, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we get a version of Battleworld in theaters. And if that’s the case, Quill should play a significant role during the crossover since he was also one of the main characters involved in the Marvel Comics event.
So far, the MCU agenda seems exceptionally bloated, so much that Marvel Studios is already considering setting some TV shows further apart from each other. So, we don't know how Marvel Studios could fit a Legendary Star-Lord adaptation before Avengers: Secret Wars hit theaters. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is arguably the best movie Marvel Studios released in the “Multiverse Saga,” which means we would all love to watch more stories featuring the ragtag heroes developed by Gunn over the past decade. And even though we might prefer to see what happens to Rocket after he becomes Captain of the Guardians, a Legendary Star-Lord adaptation is also an intriguing concept.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently available in theaters.
Read More About 'The Guardians of the Galaxy 3':
- Everything to Remember about the Guardians of the Galaxy Before Volume 3
- 10 Movies to Watch Before 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3'
- How Is Gamora Alive in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’?
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