Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's Post-Credits Scenes, Explained

From the start, writer/director James Gunn made it clear that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would close out the spacefaring heroes' journey and be his last time working with these characters. Similarly, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldaña both stated that Vol. 3 would see them bid farewell to their performances as Drax and Gamora. Vol. 3 lives up to that promise by ending with the team disbanding as they move on to different personal journeys.

Gamora returns to her new friends among the Ravagers, Drax and Nebula (Karen Gillan) stay on Knowhere to look after refugees from the High Evolutionary's experiments, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) decides to find her purpose in the universe alongside a pair of Abilisks, and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) decides to take some time off from being a hero to reconnect with his roots back on Earth. The only members of the original team left are Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel). However, as the post-credits stingers show, the galaxy isn't without its protectors, and there are still more adventures to be had by its heroes.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3's First Post-Credits Scene Teases the Team's Future

The first post-credits scene shows Rocket on an alien planet leading the new Guardians: Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova), Kraglin Obfonteri (Sean Gunn), Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) and Phyla, a survivor of The High Evolutionary who shares a name with another hero from Marvel's cosmology, Phyla-Vell, who has alternately gone by the aliases Captain Marvel, Quasar and Martyr. Rounding out the team is Groot, now standing 20 feet tall and bearing a closer resemblance to his first appearance from Tales to Astonish #13 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby.

The group debates their favorite music from Earth, but Rocket gets the final say when he plays Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" on Quill's Zune, the same song Quill danced to in the opening credits of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. However, their conversation is interrupted by a horde of creatures charging toward a terrified village. The new Guardians table their discussion and stand together to defend the village, showing that while the heroes may be unfamiliar, the Guardians live on to protect the galaxy.

Peter Quill Finds Peace in Guardians of the Galaxy 3's Final Post-Credits Scene

The final stinger after the credits is a much less exciting affair. The audience sees Quill back on Earth, staying with his grandfather Jason (Gregg Henry). They casually discuss lawn-mowing duties over breakfast while Jason reads a newspaper article about Kevin Bacon being abducted by aliens, referencing the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Amid this mundanity, a title card promises, "The Legendary Star-Lord will return."

Unlike Bautista and Saldaña, Pratt has stated he's open to returning to play Quill again and seeing him explore the changes his home planet has gone through over three decades could be an ideal vehicle for the character. Gunn will likely remain uninvolved, as he'll be busy overseeing Warner Bros.' new slate of DC Comics movies and helming Superman: Legacy himself. But there are still plenty of adventures to be had when a half-Celestial outlaw turned intergalactic protector returns to the relative normality of his home planet. And there are more stories to be told with the Guardians of the Galaxy, even if the storyteller changes.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.