Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a rollercoaster, to say the least.
Our favorite ragtag gang of intergalactic misfits have returned for another great adventure, and this time it’s all about Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper). Diving into Rocket’s backstory for the first time, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is largely concerned with the mad scientist who made Rocket, known as The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). He’s also quite arguably one of the creepiest MCU villains so far.
The High Evolutionary is hellbent on creating the supreme species, and it seems the key to this dastardly plan is everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic raccoon, Rocket. Although the Guardians rally to save Rocket and stop The High Evolutionary, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends with the gang going their separate ways after an emotionally loaded adventure.
Peter “Star-Lord” Quill (Chris Pratt) needs to go back home and spend some time with his grandpa. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) has to figure out who she is on her own. Nebula (Karen Gillan) is tasked with running a city newly inhabited by The High Evolutionary’s victims, with Drax (Dave Bautista) by her side. Rocket, now a captain, and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) are in charge of holding down the fort for the rest of the Guardians. While the film’s ending is bittersweet, the movie’s mid- and post-credits scenes cheekily hint at more Guardians stories to come.
What happens in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s mid-credit scene?
It’s Phyla!
Credit: Marvel
With Rocket now in charge of the Guardians, he’s bundled up a new team of equally hilarious heroes to keep the tradition going, including Groot, Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Cosmo the Spacedog (voiced by Maria Bakalova), and Phyla (Kai Zen) — one of the children they rescued from The High Evolutionary’s experiments for his “perfect” society.
The mid-credits see the new gang talking about their favorite music and artists, with Britney Spears getting a well-deserved shoutout from Phyla, before heading into battle against some enemies trying to terrorize a village. There’s also a sweet needle drop with “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone, the song that first introduced us to our Star-Lord, which Rocket aptly points out is an unbeatable tune (cue the happy tears).
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s mid-credit scene is really wholesome, it’s also important because it introduces us to Phyla and sets up her character arc. This is likely the first glimpse of Phyla-Vell, a character from the comics that we’ve all been waiting for and someone we’re going to be seeing a lot more of in the MCU’s future. In the comics, Phyla is the daughter of Mar-Vell (aka the original Captain Marvel) and the sister of Genis-Vell. Although her character mainly existed in Captain Marvel’s universe, Phyla eventually joins the Guardians, making her an integral character in both stories.
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With the film introducing Phyla as one of The High Evolutionary’s test subjects, it’s unclear which aspects of her comic book backstory will remain in the MCU or if they’ll change it entirely. The mid-credits do show Phyla using an uncannily similar power to one used by Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, so we can expect Phyla’s origin story (and powers) to be explained eventually. Considering that Phyla’s really young, her introduction in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might mean that she’d join a possible Young Avengers project in the MCU’s fourth phase. And by the looks of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s post-credit scene, she might be joining Star-Lord himself for some more adventures.
What happens in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s post-credit scene?
Credit: Marvel
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s post-credit scene is a heartwarming minute of Peter just being Peter. He’s munching on some cereal. He’s chilling with his grandpa. They’re both complaining about mowing the lawn. There’s a sweet nod to that one time the gang kidnapped Kevin Bacon (yes, the Kevin Bacon) for Christmas fun. It’s a Sunday morning in Star-Lord’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
With some hilarious, ASMR-esque cereal-chewing seeing us out, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends with a title card promising that Star-Lord will return — and return he will. From Phyla’s introduction to the post-credit’s promise, it seems that there are definitely more stories in the Guardians franchise to come. So buckle up, blast some ’80s pop, and brace yourself for more.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is out now in theaters.
