James Gunn has said goodbye to the MCU and hello to the DCU. So, without James Gunn, what could a Guardians of the Galaxy 4 actually look like? The original Guardians of the Galaxy film was a massive swing for Marvel. Only the most diehard of diehard comic book readers knew who the actual team was. So, when you said that there was a talking raccoon and a tree going to be in the same universe as Captain America and Thor, a lot of people were apprehensive. Of course, this all ended up being nonsensical because The Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the most massive movies of all time.
So, for the fourth film, it would make sense if they kept the trend of getting some not so well-known characters onto the big screen. Well, we did get a potential lineup at the end of Guardians 3. I mean, who who knows? Maybe it's a couple years later. Maybe a couple more people join the team. If we're thinking of people that have Guardians of the Galaxy experience in the comics, there was a character like Major Victory, otherwise known as Vance Astro. Vance was an astronaut lost in space and was sent into the far reach of the galaxy and became a member of the team. He has a lot of similarities to Captain America in terms of how he's drawn and also he's even carried the shield in a couple frames in the comics. Quazar is a popular fan favorite character that has yet to make his MCU debut, and it could be fun to see him in the Guardians 4. We could even take an even bigger swing and go for a character like Squirrel, who has had some popularity in the Marvel rivals game, but beyond that, not many readers are too familiar with her. Any way they go with it, it's important that they're not just a carbon copy of the OG team.
One thing that could differentiate this team from the OG team is the power level. The last team was a lot more scrappy, you know, rag tag. Yeah, you had Drax and you had Gamora, but in terms of their overall cosmic level, it wasn't that high. So, if we get characters on that higher level playing field, it could offer more stories that the other team just couldn't handle. Are there any characters that you would like to see join the Guardians team in this fourth generation? Let us know in the comments down below.
Now, jumping back to the actual plot of Guardians 4, we start on Xandar, and yet again, the planet has been absolutely decimated. We see bodies scattered everywhere, crumbling buildings all over the place. And just as we're seeing the the remnants of the city, we get a title card and we see that this is the actually the opening from Infinity War. And this is when Thanos went to go take the power stone away from Xandar, the moment that we didn't get to see. We then cut back to the Guardians of the Galaxy team, maybe a pop song from the 2000s if they wanted to do a little bit of karaoke. We see that Rocket is firmly the leader of this team. And we also see that he's going through a couple of stumbling blocks along the road. He's learning that when you're at the top, it can be pretty lonely, and having to take care of an entire team of these superpowered beings can take a toll on you.
As I mentioned before, this team is a lot more powerful in terms of strength than the previous team. Because of that, they're allowed to do a lot more good across the universe, but it does mean that they're stretched thin. However, all of this good has led them to become kind of like celebrities in the galaxy. This has led to the team growing in size, many of which who are doing it for altruistic reasons, while a couple people might be doing it for more celebrity selfish reasons. And while the group is physically strong, they are not the brightest in terms of their intellect. This leaves Rocket to feel somewhat alone in the group. Whereas no one is there to really banter with him the way Peter could or even the way Gamora could keep up with him intellectually.
Adam Warlock is feeling a similar type of loneliness as he's just been born a few years prior. He has only known battle his entire life. While he does find community in the team, there is a sense of longing for purpose in him. Not really knowing who he is beyond the powers and beyond the flight. Through all of their countless victories in battle, Rocket has attempted to keep the group small and humble.
Just as this is happening, a distress call comes in asking for the Guardians to help them. Of course, they get in their ship and they make their way there. But when they get there, there's no danger. In fact, it was actually a ploy to get the Guardians there as a celebration. Well, the team doesn't know what's really happening. They know that they're being celebrated and basically offered a free vacation. With the team being so needed across the galaxy, they've barely had time to rest. So, this vacation comes at just the perfect time.
Of course, Rocket is a bit apprehensive. Each member of the team gets separated and gets whisked away with the whining and the dining and the the all the all the fun stuff that comes with a vacation. Maybe, you know, kicking the feet off, getting some toes in the sand, you know, all that fun stuff. Adam Warlock even meets a woman and forms a romantic connection with her. Their connection is almost like 80s/90s romcom cheesy and it it's like finishing each other's sentences and you know, walking on the beach. It's almost too good to be true. Even Rocket takes a moment to take a beat off.
However, just as he does, he actually discovers the truth about this planet. While they seemingly just have to have a simple farmer-like outlook on life, this actually is the home planet of the Universal Church of Truth. This is a cult-like planet that worships heroes and even sees Adam Warlock as their new god. We discover that the people actually elected that one woman to try and seduce Adam to bring him into the light. The light I should say and you know use him as the poster boy for their church. Having him as the poster boy would be able to expand their reach to even more corners of the galaxy. And Adam is not the only one they want. They want the entire Guardians of the Galaxy team to be the basically like the PR for this church.
It's also revealed that they've already infiltrated numerous planets throughout the galaxy. We also learned that they're targeting places that have recently gone through tremendous hardship, whether it be through battle or famine or whatever it is. It's people that need help and they're always there to come with, you know, open arms. Okay, it's a cult. I'm You can say it a thousand different ways. We would know. You know what a cult is. I know what a cult is. That guy knows what a cult is. I don't know who that guy is. Anyways, after they learn what's going on, as they're not being forced to do anything, they actually try and discuss within the team what's best for them.
We learn that while the cult is, you know, a cult, there actually is some good that they've been doing. As some of these planets are in desperate need of help, and they've been there to help him out. However, that help usually comes at a price. And just as Rocket is trying to make his case to the Guardians and it seems like he's winning, a certain someone comes out of the woodwork, none other than Nova Prime herself from the original Guardians shows up and says that they have joined this worshiping of heroes, this new religion. She explains that Xandor has been decimated over and over again, leaving the economy, the people, everything that you need to form a society in ruins.
And the Universal Church of Truth was there to help them out in their time of need. But because they have joined the cult, they were given a hero of their own to defend themselves. This is Nova Prime. Now, this isn't the Nova Prime that we've seen before. This is the hero version. He's the last of the Novaore and was gifted the powers of flight and you know maybe strength. Yeah, vague marvel powers. But what makes him different from all the other iterations that we've seen in the comics is that his powers come from his core beliefs. So the more he believes in himself, the more powerful he is. It's kind of like the Green Lantern rings that we've seen. You know, the the stronger your will is, the stronger the the construct is. It's kind of like that.
With this new information, the group is immediately split up into two factions. One joining the Universal Church of Truth, while others go with Rocket and, you know, don't. Surprisingly though, Adam Warlock joins their team Rocket despite all the allure of the cult trying to drag him in. This divide in the group causes Rocket to have inner self-doubt about his worth as a leader. Just as this is happening, none other than Adam is the one that talks to him, tells him how he leads by example. And you know, if he can come back from where he started to where he is now, then that gives hope for everyone in the galaxy that it's never too late to turn your life around.
And with these new words, Rocket is rejoiced in himself and he starts to believe in himself again. And this brings us right to the third act. Now that the stage has been set, the cosmic action scenes that we know and love begins. As we've seen numerous amount of times, Rocket is a character that can think himself out of any situation. Whether it's making up a gadget or blowing something up, he's always able to invent his way out of a situation. But what he's never been able to do or never been forced to do is to use his emotions and to use his dialogue in order to convince people what he believes is right. There's only so many things you can shoot when you're fighting a belief system.
So using the conversation that he had with Adam earlier, he uses his belief in himself to convey others belief in themselves. Well, they don't need to, you know, give themselves to this higher overarching belief system that forces you to do things that you don't really want to do, but they tell you you got to do it. You can believe in yourself. You can believe in the people you love, the people closest to you. And if we all start doing that, then we can all succeed. These words snap the haze out of a lot of people who have been forced into believing the system. And with that, they can attack the oligarchy, the belief system and the day is saved.
Fireworks and explosions and, you know, everyone's thumbing up and hugging each other. It's a fun time. Having the film centered around a belief system is something that the MCU has never done before and would be a hell of a new step for this franchise to take. Rocket, who is a brand new leader, is going through his own struggles in self-worth, self-belief, even after the Guardians 3 films. Actually doing the leadership is different than you know thinking you can lead. So having a film about inner doubt, inner you know self-belief that this could do would be a good parallel with his character arc.
I alluded to this earlier, but it also strips down what we know from the character of Rocket. As we know, he's always the inventor. He always thinks his way out, but having him to face something on an emotional level is something that we hadn't seen him do publicly before. You know, we saw him in that dream sequence and we see he has emotions, but able to convey that to other people is something that a leader needs to do and it's something that is the next step for him in his journey.
Having the contrast of these super omega-powered beings having to talk things out would be an interesting concept because we'd be able to have our cake and eat it too. We'd get the fun, cool action sequences, but we'd also get the heart, which is at the core of all three of the original Guardians of the Galaxy films, but a lot of the MCU has kind of lost that meaningful side to it and tried to be more epic and actiony. So, bringing it back down to the characters, their motivations is something that this next franchise or the next step in this franchise really needs to do.
It seems weird to think of a Guardians of the Galaxy film without James Gunn at the helm. But if they are to do this, the one thing that I believe they need to do in order to make this new franchise successful is be different. Whoever director or writer they get, they're not going to be James Gunn. They have their own voice and they should stick to that. Of course, you know, there are some things you carry over, maybe some musical stings or maybe some actiony bits, things like that. But the film should separate themselves in a way that not trying to copy what came before, but also not forgetting what came before.
Now, juggling these two things is a pretty hard line to tell, but if they get the right director, maybe they can do it. What are your thoughts on a potential Guardians of the Galaxy 4? Are there any characters or storylines that you would love to see pop up in this fourth iteration? Let us know in the comments down below. As always, thank you for watching Screen Rant and be sure to check out more of our videos on your favorite franchises.