WARNING: SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ahead!
By now, many fans are well aware that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has some hilarious and intriguing mid and post-credits scenes; five, to be exact! While most of them don't carry much storytelling weight, one scene ended up drawing a little more interest than others. In the film's final scene after the credits (and a quick scene during the film), we get to see Stan Lee among the Watchers, a race of beings committed to observing the events of the universe.
This scene was of particular interest to fans because it was believed that the Watchers were owned by 20th Century Fox, seeing as Uatu the Watcher first appeared in Fantastic Four #13. Could their appearance in Vol. 2 signify mended relations between Fox and Marvel Studios? Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's the case.
While addressing the post-credits scenes with /Film, Kevin Feige was asked if the Watchers were owned by Fox, to which the Marvel Studios President confirmed that while Fox may own certain characters, races are shared between the two companies. "No. There’s joint custody with a number of things. There are certain characters that they have, but races that we share. If that makes sense?" This explains why Marvel Studios also has access to the Skrulls (which Feige also re-confirmed in the interview). Additionally, it's likely that the rights to Uatu specifically are in Fox's hands, similar to how they own the Super Skrull.
Also addressed was the mid-credits scene that teased the appearance of Adam Warlock. Given the character's heavy involvement in the Infinity Gauntlet comic storyline, some surmised that an appearance in next year's Avengers: Infinity War may be in the cards. Unfortunately, Feige put those dreams to an end as well. "Adam is not in Infinity War. That is not a tag for Infinity War," he said before reiterating that "[Adam's] always been top of mind for the Guardians franchise. And if he appears anywhere in the future, it’ll be with Guardians."
About The Author:
Matt is a graduate of the Ryerson University School of Journalism, and has been a fan of superheroes since he picked up his first comic book issue as a child. While he works as a professional musician, Matt has a massive passion for comic books, films and heroes, along with participating in discussion and debate with the CBM community.