Marvel Studios and director James Gunn have just replaced one of the franchise’s most beloved squads. Here are the new Guardians of the Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy in the MCU
Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy?
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a staple part of the Marvel Universe. Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Arnold Drake first established a team called the Guardians of the Galaxy back in 1969, with a squad that consisted of characters such as Yondu Udonta and Vance Astro.
A second team under the name of Guardians of the Galaxy later appeared in “Annihilation: Conquest #6” in 2008, created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Consisting of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Phyla-Vell, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Adam Warlock in the initial roster, the squad has been tied to other Marvel characters like Nova, Mantis, and Cosmo the Spacedog — characters reminiscent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ragtag bunch of misfits.

When did they first arrive in the MCU?
The Guardians of the Galaxy first appeared back in Marvel Phase Two. Director James Gunn brought the disparate group of individuals together in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 (2014), and the team quickly became fan favorites of Kevin Feige’s franchise.
Gunn’s team went on to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and most recently in their third and final outing, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

Who is in the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?
The cast consists of Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as Groot, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri, and Karen Gillan as Nebula, who make up the titular Guardians of the Galaxy. Others include Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Daniela Melchior as Ura, Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex, and Linda Cardellini as Lylla.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
When does Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 come out?
Good news! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is already out in movie theaters worldwide. It made its global premiere on April 22, 2023, in Disneyland Paris and its North American premiere on April 27, 2023, in Los Angeles, before going on to release early in some territories on May 3, and then gained its United States debut on May 5. The more mature Marvel franchise has been incredibly popular so far.

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Are there going to be more films?
As of right now, no fourth installment has been announced. Vol. 3 has long been tapped as the “final ride” for this specific group of characters, with the recent Marvel movie acting as a farewell to characters fans have gotten to love over the last decade. Gunn confirmed that this would be his last time with the team and for Marvel (at least for now) as he steps into his role as co-CEO of DC Studios for David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery. There, he will, with the help of other co-CEO Peter Safran, reinvent and relaunch the troubled DC Extended Universe into simply the DC universe — or DCU.

The first chapter of which is titled “Gods and Monsters”, and Gunn is tapped to write and direct a new Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy (2025), coming in two years’ time.
That said, while many expected to be saying a more solid goodbye to the Guardians of the Galaxy squad, Vol. 3 — like most MCU entries — left a lot of unanswered questions and even more doors open.
It even confirmed who is in the new Guardians of the Galaxy team. *Spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3*
Who is in the new Guardians of the Galaxy team?
The mid-credits scene of Gunn’s latest Marvel film introduced audiences to the MCU’s new Guardians of the Galaxy team. With a few familiar faces and some newcomers, let’s break down who’s who in the all-new squad.

Tapped as the one to die in the third movie, Rocket Raccoon survived the High Evolutionary’s manhunt and lived to tell the tale. After Star-Lord, Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, and Drax all decide to move on independently, Rocket is honored by being chosen by his comrades as the new leader of the team.
Rocket was initially created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen, making his first appearance in “Marvel Preview #7” (1976). The wise-cracking mammal is an anthropomorphic raccoon, skilled with weapons and an ace pilot to boot.

Another staple character in the MCU’s Guardians team is Groot. Having appeared as various incarnations such as “Baby Groot” over the last decade, the mid-credits scene showed another visually striking Groot as Rocket led the new team to battle.
Groot is an alien tree-like creature and first appeared in Marvel Comics over six decades ago in “Tales to Astonish #13” (1960). There he was an invader intent on capturing humans for experiments. Later, he was reintroduced in the mid-00s as a hero akin to the version MCU fans encountered back in 2014. Groot’s powers allow him to regenerate and manipulate his tree-like body into other forms, such as weapons and protective cocoons.

Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter, may be a relative newcomer to the MCU, but he first appeared in Marvel Comics back in 1967. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the character in “Fantastic Four #66-67” (1967) as Him, but Jim Starlin and Roy Thomas would later develop the character even more. Adam Warlock is a cosmic being, artificially created to be perfect, and the frequent bearer of the Soul Stone, at least in the Marvel Universe.
In the MCU, the high priestess Ayesha (Debicki) created Adam Warlock, with the movie revealing that the Sovereign serves the High Evolutionary. Adam Warlock was tasked with hunting down Rocket Raccoon for the latter, but later switched sides and helped turn the tide of the battle. He has superhuman strength, speed, can fly, and create energy blasts.

Another CGI-heavy character joining the squad is Maria Bakalova’s Cosmo the Spacedog, who was first introduced into the MCU in last year’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022).
Again, created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Cosmo the Spacedog first appeared in “Nova #4” (2008). Cosmo is a telepathic Soviet space dog and became the Knowhere space station security chief after being lost in space and mutated by cosmic energy. In the MCU, Cosmo is female and aids the Guardians of the Galaxy in their battle against the High Evolutionary, utilizing her telepathic and telekinetic abilities to powerful effect.

Like Groot, who also made his debut in this Marvel Comics run, Kraglin first appeared in “Tales to Astonish #46” (1963), created by Stan Lee, Ernie Hart, and Don Heck. Kraglin was introduced as a one-off villain in the sixties who Ant-Man and the Wasp defeated, but then later returned as part of Yondu Udonta’s Ravagers in 2017.
In the MCU, Gunn’s Kraglin Obfonteri is Xandarian. After Yondu’s (Michael Rooker) death in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, he obtains a cybernetic fin and arrow, similar to his mentor’s, that he begins to use in the new Guardians film.

One of the more interesting characters to appear as part of the new Guardians of the Galaxy team is Phyla-Vell. Of course, Phyla was part of the 2008 team in Marvel Comics, but as for the MCU, she is a completely new character. And even before her part in the Comics version of Guardians of the Galaxy, Phyla-Vell first appeared in “Captain Marvel vol. 5 #16” (2004), as created by Peter David and Paul Azaceta. She is the daughter of Mar-Vell and the sibling of Genis-Vell — both of whom have also gone by the name Captain Marvel.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sees the High Evolutionary creating new races in order to establish the perfect society. Of these is a group of humanoid children called Batch 91, and Phyla-Vell is one of these youngsters. Apart from the final few seconds in the mid-credits scene, where she creates powerful energy in her fists, not much is known of her powers in the live-action Marvel Universe. Still, in the comics, Phyla-Vell can fire energy blasts, fly, has super speed and strength — even becoming Captain Marvel for a time…

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently playing in movie theaters everywhere.
What do you think of this new Guardians of the Galaxy team? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!