Chris Pratt Returning As Star-Lord In A Non-Guardians Movie
After riding off into space together, we haven't seen the last of Star-Lord and Thor together, as Chris Pratt signs on for Thor: Love and Thunder.
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After years of wondering when the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers would unite, it was finally Thor crashing on the Guardians’ ship that brought the two groups together. By the end of The Avengers: Endgame, the God of Thunder and the Guardians were heading off on their own adventures together. It looks as though we’ll get more of Thor and at least one of the Guardians together, as Chris Pratt has signed on to appear in Thor: Love and Thunder.
At this point, it’s unclear how heavily Chris Pratt will be involved in Thor: Love and Thunder, whether he will be a sidekick in the way Hulk was in Thor: Ragnarok, or if his appearance will be little more than a cameo. Also interesting to note that even though Pratt’s involvement means Star-Lord will be in Thor: Love and Thunder, there is no news as to whether or not we will see the other members of the Guardians of the Galaxy as well.
Chris Pratt’s involvement in Thor: Love and Thunder adds to an already stacked cast. Of course, Chris Hemsworth will be reprising his role as Thor, and Thor: Ragnarok writer and director Taika Waititi is returning to the series. Tessa Thompson is also coming back to the franchise as Valkyrie, and after skipping out on Thor: Ragnarok, Natalie Portman will be returning as Jane Foster, and to play the female iteration of the thunder god. Another new addition to the cast is Christian Bale, who is rumored to play the film’s villain.
Thor: Love and Thunder might also be the only opportunity we get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy for quite some time. While Chris Pratt will appear in some capacity in Thor: Love and Thunder, there’s still no date scheduled for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Star-Lord and the rest of the team could certainly appear in another Marvel Cinematic Universe film, but there’s no evidence that will be the case.
Another reason why we probably won’t see Chris Pratt and the Guardians of the Galaxy return any time soon is James Gunn’s involvement with multiple DC projects. Gunn has finished shooting The Suicide Squad, which is planned for release on August 6, 2021, and next year will begin shooting the spinoff series Peacemaker, centering on John Cena’s The Suicide Squad character. Filming is scheduled for January to June of next year, however, Gunn will only be directing a few episodes of the series. Yet considering all that, optimistically, it seems like the earliest we could see Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is late 2022.
It looks as though for the near future, instead of making gigantic team-up movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will center around these smaller reunions. Marvel previously announced that the third Spider-Man film would feature Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and there has been plenty of speculation as to how many characters and different iterations of characters might appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Chris Pratt joining Thor: Love and Thunder seems to be a continuation of this new way of combining Marvel forces.
There’s still over a year before we get to see Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord reunited, but Thor: Love and Thunder will certainly be well worth the wait when it is released on February 11, 2022.
