It’s safe to say no-one saw Guardians of the Galaxy coming. Based on an obscure property that even most comic fans had never heard of, starring a relatively unknown actor best known as an overweight doofus on a cult sitcom, directed by a guy whose best known work was an obscene, hyper-violent deconstruction of the superhero genre and releasing in the relatively dry movie month of August, I don’t think anyone really thought this movie would turn out being as good as it was. But the film proved its detractors wrong- dazzling everyone with its instantly classic soundtrack, gorgeous visuals, snappy dialogue and great performances from its central cast, the film grossed over $700 million, and made Chris Pratt a bona-fide movie star.
Now, we have just under a year to go until the much-anticipated release of its sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2- and despite its relative proximity, the film remains an enigma. Asides from a few minor details, we know next to nothing about the film’s plot, character arcs, characters or its soundtrack. But that hasn’t stopped fans from spending obscene amounts of time speculating of every aspect of the production. I’m no different, and so, in this article, I’m going to offer up a few theories about the film, ranging from the identities of certain characters to overall themes. So let’s get started!
1. The Central Theme Will Be Family
This one, I reckon, is kind of a no brainer. The first movie already made use of the concept of family- Peter Quill’s issues pertaining to the death of his mom, Gamora’s weird relationship with her adopted sister Nebula, Drax’s angst over his family’s deaths and so on. Gunn has already stated that Karen Gillan’s Nebula will have a bigger part in this film, so expect the sibling dynamic teased in the first film to be better explored here. As well as this, Gunn has also confirmed a larger role for Michael Rooker’s Yondu, so we can expect more from his relationship with Quill.
Undoubtedly though, the biggest way the film explores this theme will be with Star-Lord’s relationship with his father, played by Kurt Russell (okay, it’s not been confirmed, but come on). I can’t guess as to how they’ll explore it, but I have faith in Gunn’s writing abilities. He’s already said this film will be smaller and more personal, exploring each of its heroes’ troubled pasts, and utilising the theme of family would be a great way to do that. Pom Klementieff’s Mantis also has a troubled family past, having been raised by Kree ninjas, so maybe they’ll explore it with her as well. And whilst we’re on the subject of new characters….
2. Elizabeth Debecki Is Her, And She’s The Main Villain
You may remember that about a month ago, CBM ran an exclusive that revealed the names of some of the new characters. Tommy Flanagan’s character was named Tullk, and Chris Sullivan’s was exposed as Taserface, but the most notable was that of the character played by The Man From U.N.C.L.E star Elizabeth Debecki- Ayesha. Now, I confess to not being overly familiar with Marvel cosmic, but a quick Google search told me that Ayesha is in fact a significant character from the comics- one with ties to a famous cosmic hero.
Long story short, Ayesha is Her, a genetically enhanced superhuman created by the Enclave, the same group of mad scientists responsible for Adam Warlock. Created after his escape (should that be capitalised?), Ayesha sought to find Warlock and convince him to mate with her to create a perfect race of super-beings. Ayesha would certainly fit the Guardians trend of using lesser-known comics characters, and Debecki has shown that she can play a convincing villain in U.N.C.L.E. And if she’s Ayesha, then it only follows that…..
3. Kurt Russell Is Adam Warlock, And He’s Star-Lord’s Dad
If my theory about Ayesha is correct, then it’s obvious that Warlock will show up in this film. Adam Warlock is one of Marvel’s best known cosmic characters, and fans have been clamouring for his inclusion in the MCU since its inception. This film would be a great way to include him, and he fits with everything we know about Star-Lord’s dad. Mrs Quill said he was ‘composed of pure light’, and Warlock can make himself glow with energy. Yondu said he was ‘a jackass’, and Warlock has gone bad at various points in comic history. Nova Prime said he wasn’t human or on any of their databases, which makes sense as Warlock is one-of-a-kind (well, expect for the other one I pointed out above). She also said he’s ‘very ancient’, and whilst Warlock’s traditional origin places him as the creation of Earth scientists within the past few decades, they could play around with it and have him be far older.
If Russell is indeed Warlock, and Warlock is Peter’s dad, then my guess is that the main plot will revolve around Debecki’s Ayesha trying to find and reunite with Warlock. Presumably, she runs afoul of the Guardians in her quest, and we go from there. This has already been the centre of many rumours, and I think it’s one that has a decent chance of coming true. They might shuffle his origins a bit to avoid being too similair to Vision though- invuknerbale super-being with an Infinity Stone in his forehead created by a group of super-scientists and born from a cocoon? It might cause some deja-vu with the GA. And speaking of changing origins…..
4. Mantis Will Be Changed A Bit
Marvel Studios hasn’t hesitated in the past to take liberties with the source material to service the story, and I feel like this is no exception. In the comics, Mantis is a Vietnamese prostitute who was raised by a sect of Kree warriors to become the ‘Celestial Madonna’. Gunn has stated that he avoided using characters like Nova as he wanted Star-Lord to be the only human, so perhaps the film will skip out the Vietnamese part and just flat out make her a Kree. Hey, we’ve already had blue Kree (Ronan) and black Kree (Korath) so why not green Kree? I reckon they also might gloss over her martial arts skills and make her psychic and telepathic abilities the main trait of her character- two green martial arts ladies might be too much for one superhero team.
So that’s it! Thanks for reading this, and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below. Agree with my theories? Have any of your own? Then please do let me know. Thank you for reading!