The fifteenth film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially hit theaters. Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 launched to the top of the box office in its opening weekend, where it is likely to stay for a few weeks. If you have not seen the film yet, I would highly recommend it as a diehard MCU fan. It is pretty much on par with the original. The film is full of emotion, laughter, growing relationships and even a few deaths.
Now before we continue, let me give out the customary SPOILER alert. If you have not seen Guardians two yet, you should bookmark this page. Then close the window and save this article for after you have taken in the film on your own.
Alright, now that we have gotten that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff.
So overall, this film certainly has that sequel feel to it. It kept the attention on the characters we met and learned to love in the original. The relationships between these characters were expanded on. Some of the secondary characters in the first film were fleshed out a bit more. But with all that said, the first one was overall fairly distant from the MCU as a whole. Yes, it had a few scenes with Thanos and introduced an Infinity Stone, but there was no real connection to the other characters.
Volume two follows suit in that regard. This film is arguably more distant from the rest of the MCU than the first, as there are no Infinity Stones and no appearances from Thanos. That does not mean there are no impacts as we continue forward, however. So here are a few ways in which Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 will impact the MCU in the coming years.
Nebula is going for the kill
We learned a bit more about Nebula’s backstory in this one. Part of that backstory involved Thanos ripping off body part after body part after she would lose a fight to Gamora when they were younger. Now that her anger for her sister has been cleared, all of her attention is on her father.
The last we see her she is setting off on a mission to kill Thanos. So I would say she will certainly play a pretty big role in the upcoming Infinity War film. Look for Nebula to be right in the thick of things as the Avengers try to bring down the Mad Titan.
Adam Warlock is on his way
We did not get to see him, but we did get a name drop. In one of the five credit scenes, a defeated Ayesha is sitting with her head in her hands. But when she looks up and begins to talk, we get a glimpse at a cocoon that contains someone she is going to call Adam.
While Marvel execs are denying that he will appear in Infinity War, I would not rule him out for the fourth Avengers flick. Even longer down the line, he is a virtual lock to appear in Guardians three. So keep your eyes out for some casting news. Because Adam Warlock is coming.
Kraglin becoming a member of the team
Yondu’s death was certainly an emotional moment for many characters and fans. One of the characters that felt it the most was his right-hand man, Kraglin. But as a result, Kraglin may be given the chance to take a step up. Star-Lord passed along Yondu’s fin and arrow to the man portrayed by James Gunn’s brother.
Expect to see him have a Yondu sized role come Guardians of The Galaxy three. Also, I would not be surprised to see him show up in Infinity War as an actual member of the team. He is certainly the type of character that could bite the bullet in that film too. In other words, expect to see more of the actor who actually plays Rocket on set at times.
Star-Lord may or may not be able to bring back his powers
Star-Lord has the genes of a god. His father is a celestial. As a result, they revealed in this film that he had some really cool powers. One of those powers was the ability to make things out of thin air. When they made this reveal, I had Star-Munch (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) pegged as one of the key characters who would take down Thanos.
But when the team killed Ego, it appears that Star-Lords powers disappeared. If that is indeed true, then he will continue on as the same man we knew prior to this second installment in the series. However, I am not ready to rule out the possibility of him finding a way to tap back into those powers. The point here is, Star-Lord is going to be a very interesting character to keep an eye on as we continue on into the next two Avengers films.
So there you have it folks. While Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 was rather distant from the rest of the MCU, it still certainly impacts it. What is the biggest impact in your opinion? Tell us in the comments!