The Guardians of the Galaxy are anticipated to be lacking from Avengers: Doomsday, however the MCU already has their alternative lined up. After three of their very own motion pictures, alongside appearances in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder, the bunch of lovable a-holes principally went their separate methods on the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While a brand new staff was formally shaped, it has but to return within the three years since that film was launched.
The new look Guardians of the Galaxy team contains Rocket and Groot, now formally joined by Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam (plus his pet, Blurp), and Phyla. There will, presumably, be extra cosmic adventures for the group, whether or not that is in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4 or one other mission, comparable to maybe returning within the long-mooted Nova film. Barring a shock, although, which is actually doable, they will not be in Doomsday, which is already full of superheroes from numerous groups.
The team-up occasion can have two completely different Avengers rosters – one led by Sam Wilson’s Captain America, and the New Avengerz from Thunderbolts* – in addition to a number of members of Fox’s unique X-Men. The sheer plethora of characters to slot in would possibly alone assist clarify why there is not any room for the Guardians in Doomsday, however one other of its groups serves as a extra direct alternative anyway.
If Doomsday Is Like Infinity War, The Fantastic Four Are The Guardians Of The Galaxy
Reed Richards, the Fantastic Four, and Thor in Avengers: Doomsday
The Guardians of the Galaxy performed a vital function in Avengers: Infinity War, not least because the characters with the closest ties to Thanos. They had been outsiders, arriving from the additional reaches of the cosmos, who needed to shortly forge alliances with the likes of Thor and Iron Man with the intention to tackle the Mad Titan. And it was Gamora who proved central to Thanos’ plans, as he sacrificed her on Vormir with the intention to retrieve the Soul Stone.
While we do not but know precisely how Avengers: Doomsday will play out, it is simple to see the similarities between the Guardians and the Fantastic Four. They have a household dynamic (a extra literal one, on this case), and are additionally outsiders who’ll be coming from afar (one other universe, this time), and can actually have a member who is likely to be barely confounding to Earth’s heroes (then: Groot and Rocket, now: The Thing).
From “I Am Iron Man” to “I Am Inevitable” · Eight Questions How Well Do You Know the MCU? “Whatever it takes.”
Phase OneRDJ & the founders, 2008
The AvengersWhedon’s staff, 2012
Infinity SagaThanos & the stones
EndgameWhatever it takes, 2019
MultiversePhase 4–6, 2021–
01
Iron Man (2008) is, on reflection, probably the most consequential casting resolution in fashionable blockbuster historical past — however on the time Marvel Studios and dad or mum firm Paramount had been brazenly hostile to director Jon Favreau’s push for the lead actor he ultimately received. Favreau later stated he needed to battle “tooth and nail” and the actor needed to do a paid display screen check, a screen-test deal nearly extraordinary for an A-lister. What was the chief objection to him?
✓ Correct! Robert Downey Jr. had been arrested a number of occasions between 1996 and 2001 on drug and weapons fees, served roughly a 12 months in California state jail (1999–2000), and was fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 after relapsing. By 2007 he’d been clear for a number of years, however Marvel/Paramount thought-about him primarily uninsurable for a $140 million tent-pole. Favreau pushed for him over studio favourites Tom Cruise (who’d had Iron Man improvement at Fox years earlier) and Sam Rockwell (who’d later play Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2 as a comfort). RDJ took a reported $500,000 base wage — lower than Terrence Howard, whose function he then completely overshadowed.
✗ Wrong. The reply is his arrest historical past. RDJ had drug-related arrests from 1996–2001, served jail time in 1999–2000, and was fired from Ally McBeal in 2001 — which made him uninsurable in studio phrases though he’d been sober for a number of years by 2007. Favreau fought for him over Tom Cruise and Sam Rockwell, and RDJ took a reported $500,000 base wage — lower than co-star Terrence Howard.
02
The Avengers (2012) — the movie that proved the shared-universe mannequin might work, grossed $1.52 billion, and ended Phase One with Loki, Thanos’s mid-credits reveal, and the “swarm shot” of the staff rotating in Manhattan — was written and directed by a TV showrunner greatest recognized on the time for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Name him.
✓ Correct! Joss Whedon. Marvel employed him in mid-2010 partly on the idea of his uncredited script rewrites and his consolation writing ensemble staff dynamics from Buffy/Angel/Firefly. He directed The Avengers (2012) and the follow-up Age of Ultron (2015), then exited the MCU and Marvel handed the subsequent two Avengers movies to the Russo brothers. The three different administrators named all actually did make Phase One movies: Favreau directed Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010), Branagh directed Thor (2011), and Joe Johnston directed Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — which is why this query separates Phase One trivia from Avengers-specific trivia.
✗ Wrong. The reply is Joss Whedon — employed largely on the power of Buffy, Firefly, and uncredited Hollywood script work. The three mistaken choices are intentionally all actual Phase One MCU administrators: Favreau did Iron Man 1 & 2, Branagh did Thor (2011), and Joe Johnston did The First Avenger (2011). Whedon directed Avengers (2012) and Age of Ultron (2015) earlier than exiting the MCU.
03
Marvel co-architect Stan Lee (1922–2018) appeared in each theatrical MCU movie from Iron Man (2008) onward, even capturing cameos prematurely to outlast him. He died on November 12, 2018. In which movie does his remaining filmed MCU cameo seem — because the long-haired younger driver of a 1970 automobile bearing the bumper sticker “NUFF SAID”?
✓ Correct! Avengers: Endgame (April 2019). Lee seems digitally de-aged behind the wheel of a 1970 Chevy on the New Jersey military base the place Tony Stark and Steve Rogers journey again to retrieve the Tesseract; he shouts “hey man, make love, not war!” The cameo was filmed earlier than Lee’s demise and confirmed by the Russos as his remaining filmed MCU look, though the next-released movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2019), grew to become the primary MCU movie with no Stan Lee cameo in any respect. Captain Marvel (March 2019) has him studying the script for Mallrats on the L.A. prepare and was the primary posthumously-released cameo, however Endgame was the final one he truly shot.
✗ Wrong. The reply is Avengers: Endgame — the de-aged hippie-era driver within the 1970 New Jersey time-heist scene. Captain Marvel (March 2019) was the primary cameo to launch posthumously, however Endgame (April 2019) was the final one Lee truly filmed. Spider-Man: Far From Home (July 2019) grew to become the primary MCU movie with no Stan Lee cameo in any respect.
04
Across Phase One via Three, every Infinity Stone is hidden inside a particular container earlier than being claimed for Thanos’s Gauntlet. The blue Space Stone is housed inside a glowing dice that originates with the Asgardians, is recovered by Howard Stark from the wreckage of the Red Skull’s airplane, is taken to Asgard by Loki in 2012, and is lastly retrieved by Hulk on Sakaar earlier than falling to Thanos. What is that container known as?
✓ Correct! The Tesseract — the blue dice that homes the Space Stone — first seems in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), powers the portal Loki opens over Manhattan in The Avengers (2012), and is destroyed by Thanos in Infinity War (2018) when he crushes it to say the stone inside. The mistaken choices are all actual Infinity Stone containers from the MCU: the Aether (purple liquid type) homes the Reality Stone in Thor: The Dark World, the Orb homes the Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Eye of Agamotto homes the Time Stone in Doctor Strange. So all 4 solutions discuss with real stone containers — solely the Tesseract holds Space.
✗ Wrong. The reply is the Tesseract. The lure is that every one 4 choices are actual Infinity Stone containers: the Aether holds Reality (Thor: The Dark World), the Orb holds Power (Guardians of the Galaxy), and the Eye of Agamotto holds Time (Doctor Strange). Space — the blue stone proven in Cap’s 1942 airplane wreckage and Loki’s 2012 invasion — is the Tesseract.
05
In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the Soul Stone is hidden on Vormir and guarded by a Stonekeeper — revealed to be a cursed Red Skull. To declare it, the seeker should sacrifice the individual they love most by throwing them from a cliff. Thanos arrives on Vormir with one adopted daughter, weeps, and pushes her over the sting. Which character does Thanos sacrifice to acquire the Soul Stone?
✓ Correct! Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). Thanos forces her to guide him to Vormir as a result of Nebula has earlier revealed below torture that Gamora knew the Soul Stone’s location all alongside. The scene is the emotional pivot of Infinity War: it confirms that Thanos actually does love Gamora, which implies the sacrifice qualifies. In Endgame (2019), a 2014 model of Gamora returns via time journey together with her father — that means Gamora-of-Infinity-War stays useless on the finish of the saga, whereas a special Gamora wanders the cosmos in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Nebula is alive all through Infinity War; Mantis survives Vormir solely; Proxima Midnight is one among Thanos’s Black Order kids, killed within the Battle of Wakanda.
✗ Wrong. The reply is Gamora. Nebula is alive all through Infinity War (she’s the one whose torture reveals Gamora knew the place the stone was hidden). Mantis isn’t on Vormir. Proxima Midnight is Thanos’s adopted daughter by way of the Black Order, not by way of Zen-Whoberi, and is killed through the Battle of Wakanda by Scarlet Witch. Thanos sacrifices Gamora — the one adopted daughter he genuinely loves.
06
In Avengers: Endgame (2019), Steve Rogers travels again in time to return the Infinity Stones, then chooses to stay previously and stay out a life with Peggy Carter. He returns to the current as an outdated man, sits on a bench by the lake on the Avengers compound, and palms his vibranium defend to a youthful Avenger because the symbolic switch of the Captain America identification. To whom does Steve give the defend?
✓ Correct! Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) — the Falcon. The alternative intentionally bypasses Bucky, the unique comics successor, as a result of the Russos and screenwriters Markus & McFeely needed the second to learn as a deliberate, racially-charged passing of an American icon fairly than the apparent comics-canon handoff. The thread is then picked up instantly in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+, 2021), through which Sam initially offers the defend to the Smithsonian, sees the federal government set up John Walker as a alternative Cap, and in the end takes the mantle himself — organising Captain America: Brave New World (2025) with Mackie because the franchise’s new lead.
✗ Wrong. The reply is Sam Wilson, the Falcon. In the comics Bucky is the basic Cap successor, however the Russos and screenwriters Markus and McFeely intentionally picked Sam as a substitute — a alternative the complete Falcon and the Winter Soldier collection (Disney+, 2021) then unpacks earlier than Mackie carries it into Captain America: Brave New World (2025).
07
After Endgame, Marvel Studios’ Phase Four launched the MCU on Disney+ with a sitcom-pastiche restricted collection through which Wanda Maximoff and a resurrected Vision stay inside a reality-warping suburban hex. Each episode parodied a special period of US TV sitcom — The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, Family Ties, Modern Family. The present premiered January 15, 2021 and ran 9 episodes. Which collection was it — the primary MCU mission on Disney+?
✓ Correct! WandaVision (January 15 – March 5, 2021), created by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman. It launched Phase Four, earned 23 Emmy nominations, and successfully rebooted Wanda Maximoff because the Scarlet Witch forward of Doctor Strange within the Multiverse of Madness (2022). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier adopted it in March 2021 — not first — and Loki landed in June 2021. Hawkeye is the 2021 Christmas collection with Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. The unique launch order was WandaVision → FATWS → Loki → What If…? → Hawkeye, and WandaVision’s sitcom format stays the boldest swing of the Disney+ period.
✗ Wrong. The reply is WandaVision (January 15, 2021), the primary MCU present on Disney+ and the launchpad for Phase Four. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier got here in March 2021, Loki in June 2021, and Hawkeye in late 2021. The sitcom-pastiche construction — Dick Van Dyke via Modern Family — is exclusive to WandaVision.
08
At the closing panel of San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, 2024, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige introduced the Russo brothers again on stage to announce a brand new title for the subsequent Avengers movie — beforehand labelled “The Kang Dynasty” earlier than Jonathan Majors’s December 2023 conviction compelled a pivot — after which unmasked a solid of actors sporting inexperienced hoods. The remaining hood got here off Robert Downey Jr. RDJ is returning to the MCU, however not as Tony Stark. As whom?
✓ Correct! Doctor Doom — Victor von Doom, the Latverian dictator and Reed Richards’s lifelong nemesis, usually thought-about Marvel’s best comics villain. The subsequent Avengers movie, initially introduced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, was retitled Avengers: Doomsday after Jonathan Majors was dropped as Kang following his December 2023 assault conviction. Doomsday is scheduled for May 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars to observe in May 2027 — each directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, returning to the MCU after Endgame. The in-universe rationalization for RDJ taking part in Doom fairly than Stark hinges on the multiverse: Doom is being positioned as a variant of Stark from one other timeline.
✗ Wrong. The reply is Doctor Doom. The movie was retitled from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday (May 2026) after Jonathan Majors was dropped, and the Russos returned to direct. RDJ’s casting as Doom — fairly than as Tony Stark — is being defined in-universe by way of the multiverse: Doom as a Stark variant from one other timeline.
The Stones Are Cast · Final Scorecard Your Avengers Standing
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A worthy Avenger — or dusted within the snap?
More importantly, although, is the information they’re bringing of Doctor Doom. The post-credits scene to The Fantastic Four: First Steps already set this up to a point, with the masked villain seemingly about to kidnap Franklin Richards, however footage from San Diego Comic-Con has made it extra concrete. It confirms there is a connection and history between the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, with them seemingly all from the identical universe. Reed Richards grabs him and calls him “Victor,” at one level, whereas Sue Storm says he was form and caring earlier than “losing everything.”
This positions them equally to the Guardians: they’ve shut ties and probably the most in-depth information of the villain, his powers, and what he truly desires, which makes them essential to Doomsday. In addition to that, whereas unconfirmed, it is probably that Franklin Richards is key to Doom’s multiversal plans, not dissimilar to how Thanos had to make use of Gamora for his. This is all very encouraging for each Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, as a result of it ought to place Reed as a central determine towards Doom. The pair have one among Marvel’s best rivalries within the comics, and that deserves its place within the MCU.
The Guardians Of The Galaxy (& Star-Lord) Still Need To Return
Image by way of Marvel Studios
As a lot because it is smart why they won’t be in Doomsday, which largely appears to be like to be happening on Earth(s) fairly than out in house and is not missing in heroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy ought to nonetheless return. Vol. 3 was an exquisite send-off to that iteration of the staff, however there’s lots of potential in new characters like Adam Warlock, who deserve far more than to be one-and-done (certainly, Adam’s story has hardly even begun).
The massive problem for bringing the staff again for a fourth film lies within the absence of James Gunn. The author/director of the primary trilogy is now heading up DC Studios, so it is most likely protected to imagine he is not going to make a return to Marvel anytime quickly. It’s going to be a tall order for anybody to interchange him given how private these motion pictures had been, which could imply bringing them again as a part of one other film is a neater possibility. Either means, although, after the tease of a brand new staff, we must always get to see it.
The identical can be true of Star-Lord. The finish of Guardians 3 promised that “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return,” hinting at both an Avengers film function or even perhaps a solo outing, however there’s been no sign of Chris Pratt’s hero. It appears extra believable that he’ll flip up in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Secret Wars than his former teammates, not least as a result of he is at present based mostly on Earth (or was final thing we knew), so it’d really feel unusual if he did not flip up in any respect throughout these two motion pictures. Ultimately, the Guardians of the Galaxy had an ideal ending, however ought to have a transparent future, too.
