How Many After Credits Are in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now on VOD and we are not ready to say goodbye. But that’s what this film has been billed as, the action-packed and emotionally-intense swan song of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s baddest do-gooders. We’ve seen these heroes save the galaxy more than a few times, and now they’re going out with a bang. But are there end credits in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

Or are they? Marvel has closed out a few trilogies in their day only to announce more movies in the sub-franchise. The Thor franchise has four movies in it (and counting) and we have new Captain America and Iron Man movies (well, Armor Wars) on the way starring Anthony Mackie and Don Cheadle, respectively. So even though Marvel says this is the end of the road for the Guardians, is it? The closest thing we have to a road map are the post-credits scene(s) for Vol. 3.

So, what happens in them? Let’s break them down and think about what they mean for the future. SPOILERS ahead.

How many after credits scenes are in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has not one, but two post-credits scenes that tee up the future of these characters and the MCU.

What happens in the first Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene? Guardians of the Galaxy 3 end credit scene explained:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been billed as the final outing of the team, and the end of the movie drives that home — mostly. The team goes their separate ways at the end. Star-Lord returns to Earth and reunites with his 90-something-year-old grandfather; Gamora returns to the Ravagers, who give her a warm reception; Drax and Nebula stay on Knowhere to help run the community and keep an eye on the increased population of children; Mantis and her new Abilisk monster friends depart for a mission of self-discovery; and Rocket Raccoon and Groot… form a new Guardians of the Galaxy.

The post-credits introduces Rocket’s lineup of Guardians, which includes telekinetic dog Cosmo and ex-Ravager Kraglin, Adam Warlock, and Phyla-Vell, one of the children rescued from the High Evolutionary’s cages. We see them on a desolate, rocky planet discussing their favorite musicians. Then the locals cry out in panic, for a stampede of marauding creatures are rolling towards them. And then Rocket rallies his team and they leap into battle, to guard the defenseless.

What happens in the second Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene? Guardians of the Galaxy 3 end credit scene explained:

This is a quick scene set back on Earth, specifically in St. Charles, Missouri. There we see Peter Quill and his grandfather Jason (Gregg Henry) sitting around his tiny kitchen table. Jason’s reading the paper and Peter’s eating cereal while griping about the weirdo large adult son of his neighbor who watches him while he mows the neighbor’s lawn. Jason hints that there is some juicy small-town gossip about this dude, and Peter is eager to hear it. That’s it for this scene — and then it fades into white and text on the screen reads, “The legendary Star-Lord will return.”

What does any of this mean for the future of the MCU and the Guardians of the Galaxy?

Based on that post-credits scene, it looks like Star-Lord is ready to pull a Phil Collins and go solo. Comic fans will catch that The Legendary Star-Lord was the name of the character’s 2014 solo comic series. It seems likely that this will be the name of an upcoming Star-Lord film — which, come on, of course, Marvel Studios wants to keep Hollywood leading man Chris Pratt on the payroll. The big question is what does a solo Star-Lord movie look like? Is it a fish-out-of-water movie where a guy who has saved the galaxy at least twice (and also threatened it at least once) trying to cope with life in St. Charles? We’ll have to wait and see.

More of a variable has to be this new Guardians lineup. Marvel Studios sure implied that this was the last Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so a Vol. 4 movie would probably feel a bit like a cop-out. And not to shade the rest of the cast, but with Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista very vocally done with the franchise and Chris Pratt potentially gearing up for a solo movie, this new lineup kinda lacks the visible star power to launch a new Guardians film. It would make more sense for this Guardians lineup to become a backing band for another cosmic hero, one with heavy ties to the Guardians in the comics and a Disney+ Special Presentation in the works: I’m talking about Nova.

As MCU fans will recall, the Nova Corps were the space cops led by Glenn Close in the first GOTG film. They were revealed to have been mostly destroyed off-screen during Avengers: Infinity War during Thanos’ quest to acquire the Power Stone. Nova — a.k.a. the as-yet-cast Richard Rider — would most likely be the last of the Nova Corps members, hence why he gets to be called “Nova,” singular. Marvel announced last year that they were developing the character to get his own hourlong, Disney+ original “special presentation” in the vein of Werewolf By Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. If we are going to see this lineup of Guardians again, it would make sense for them to show up in that special presentation, and potentially in whatever big screen plans Marvel Studios has for Nova afterward.

Of course, all of that remains a theory and we’ll just have to wait and see what’s up next for the cosmic heroes of the MCU.