Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 takes on a lot. Not only is it the 32nd film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it is also the final film from James Gunn’s popular trilogy. It has been six long years since the previous instalment was released and fans have been vying for more. And judging from the critics’ and fans’ reactions, it was worth the wait. The final goodbye comes in the form of a deeply emotional and somehow equally hilarious ride. The film catches up with the Guardians and delves into the backstory of Rocket Raccoon. With everything that goes down in the movie, it can be hard to keep track of all the events. Luckily, we’re about to dive into the satisfying ending and post-credits scenes in detail.
What happened in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
The film picks up in Knowhere, the Guardians’ headquarters. While the characters have all settled in, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still torn after Gamora’s (Zoe Saldana) death. He spends his days drinking and pushing people away. While there is a Gamora alive in his universe, she is a different person who runs with the Ravagers and wants nothing to do with the motley crew of misfits. The event that starts it all is a life-threatening attack on Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). We find out that Rocket was one of many animals experimented upon by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) a self-proclaimed God who likes to play around with bio-engineering. We also see flashbacks of Rocket’s traumatic past. When the Guardians try to revive a fatally wounded Rocket with a med kit, they find a kill switch inside his body. To get the code to bypass the switch and to save their friend, the team make their way to Orgocorp, the evil organisation responsible for the experiments and eventually to Counter-Earth, a planet created by the High Evolutionary. His plan is to modify humans and animals alike to create perfect beings. He also wants to harvest Rocket Raccoon’s brains for his excellent intellect.
On Counter-Earth, Star-Lord and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) go up against the High Evolutionary and get away unharmed after the attack while Gamora stays on the Guardians’ ship to protect Rocket. Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), in the meantime, break into the enemy’s spaceship assuming Peter and Groot are still inside. Star-Lord and Groot catch up with Gamora and find Rocket struggling to survive. In a tear-jerker of a scene, it seems like Rocket is dying as he sees his former cellmates, animals who were experimented upon like him. However, he survives much to everyone’s relief. Mantis, Drax and Nebula discover hundreds of children caged right before Counter-Earth is set to be destroyed.
What happened at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
The final clash sees the Knowhere station piloted by Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo (Maria Bakalova) flying in to fight against the High Evolutionary’s ship. Rocket, Peter, Gamora and Groot get the backup they need. They are joined by Mantis, Drax and Nebula and the whole gang gets together for one last showdown. The Guardians make it their mission to save the captive children. They also manage to help the children escape and make it to the Knowhere station. But it doesn’t end there. Rocket raccoon is up for one long-overdue confrontation with the High Evolutionary. After the prisoners escape, Rocket stumbles upon more cages and crates. One crate is labelled raccoon and he finally finds out that he was indeed a raccoon just as Peter said. While he’s having a moment, the High Evolutionary attacks him. Luckily, the Guardians come to his aid and they defeat the villain together. They then go on to save the remaining animals. The crew survives even after Peter has a near-death experience. This is perhaps the biggest surprise of the film. Apart from this, the two post-credits scenes also come with their own set of surprises.
The new Guardians of the Galaxy
The climax offers an answer to the fate of the Guardians. Once the dust settles, the main members decide to part ways. Peter plans on returning to Earth to find his last remaining family member, his grandfather. Mantis leaves with the new creatures she met along the way. Nebula and Drax stay back to take care of the rescued children on Knowhere. The other Gamora goes back with the Ravagers but she leaves as a friend of the Guardians. This leaves the Guardians of the Galaxy in the leadership of Rocket Raccoon. He is joined by Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo and Phyla (Kai Zen), one of the rescued white-haired kids. The first post-credits scene sees them on a mission on a desert planet. They seem to be in the middle of a tense situation but manage to talk music. Rocket plays Redbone’s Come and Get Your Love, a recall from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie before they all spring into action.
Star-Lord will be back!
The second post-credits scene ties up Peter Quill’s arc. It sees Peter return to Earth. He decides to do some solo self-exploration and visits his grandfather’s home. To his surprise, his grandfather is still alive. We see Peter having breakfast on the kitchen table as the two discuss him having to mow the neighbour’s lawn, just regular human stuff. However, something tells us this isn’t his last adventure. At the very end, a blank screen reads, “The legendary Star-Lord will return”. With James Gunn’s move to DC Studios, the Guardians’ future was very uncertain. However, Vol. 3 confirms that Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord will make an MCU comeback. That could mean anything between a solo outing or a series. So fans can rest assured there are more adventures to be had.
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