Will Star-Lord Return in Guardians of the Galaxy 4?

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arriving in theaters and receiving acclaim from critics and audiences, MCU fans may be wondering if the superhero Peter Quill/Star-Lord will return for a potential Guardians of the Galaxy 4.

Chris Pratt has had a wildly successful career, having very recently gotten box office success with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and he now headlines the sequel to the superhero film that launched his career into movie stardom. But will we be seeing more of Star-Lord in a potential sequel GotG movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? This is what we currently know about the likelihood of that.

Beware, spoilers lay ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!

What does ‘Star-Lord will return’ mean?

The final title card in the newest Guardians movie reads, “Star-Lord Will Return.” This continues an MCU trend where we see a title card that lets us know whether we’ll be seeing our favorite heroes again or if this will be the end of the line for them. Zoe Saldaña has confirmed this is her last outing as Gamora, as did Dave Bautista as Drax.

However, the title card means that Star-Lord will remain in the MCU, and Pratt is still open to playing him. Pratt told GamesRadar+, “It would be strange to continue Peter’s story without James [Gunn]…to continue to tell the story, it would really be important to honor what he’s done in the first three films and to honor what the fans have grown to love about the character and not simply do it because people might show up to pay for it, you know? I don’t want to be cynical in the approach, and if that’s the case, I just wouldn’t do it at all. So maybe down the road, if something makes sense, I would do it, but it would really have to check a lot of the right boxes.”

Will there be a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4?

There are currently no official plans for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4. On Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast, director James Gunn stated, “This is the end for us, the last time people will see this team of Guardians.” With this quote, Pratt’s sentiments, and the fact that Gunn is now leading the charge at DC, it is likely that we will not be seeing a fourth Guardians film.

However, that does not mean that we won’t be seeing any more of our beloved characters. Star-Lord is confirmed to return, but he will likely appear in other films, the way he did in MCU films like Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Love and Thunder. And there’s always the possibility of seeing more familiar faces down the line.

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