With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just beginning to open around the world, it’s too early to say if the much-anticipated threequel is going to spell the end of the bad luck the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been suffering from of late, but we can say that it’s definitely sidestepped a curious Hollywood curse that previously afflicted Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Continuing the theme of near-misses, Captain America 4 might have made a very canny choice of its own that could save it a lot of pain later down the line
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 eschews a Hollywood curse guaranteed to kill any threequel stone-dead
There are many pitfalls the concluding chapter in a movie trilogy must avoid, but it turns out the one thing you absolutely mustn’t do is cut a certain underrated actor out of your cast. As Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Jurassic World: Dominion, and Halloween Ends all discovered too late, bad things come to those who remove this always reliable if often underused star from the production. Fortunately, thanks to the gift of an easily missed cameo, Guardians 3 has managed to avoid being plagued by this curse so it will hopefully miss being tarred with the same brush as those three recent stinkers.
Captain America 4 may have got itself a new title order as Marvel supposedly comes to its senses
There’s a lot about Captain America 4 that has drawn controversy, from its inclusion of Israeli superhero Sabra to the fact it’s a secret Incredible Hulk sequel, but the biggest point of contention has to be Marvel’s choice to subtitle it New World Order, a phrase that unfortunately comes with some loaded and unsavory political connotations. The latest word on the street has it, however, that the project is currently untitled, meaning the studio must’ve belatedly realized its mistake. Thankfully, Kevin Feige and co. have a bit of time to think of a much better name for it as they’ve got a full year until its May 3, 2024 release.
Karen Gillan pitches the perfect way to extend the Guardians-verse
We all know that Guardians 3 is the end of the line for this lineup of the cosmic super-team, but there’s nothing stopping individual characters or combos from returning. Nebula star Karen Gillan has a pitch-perfect pitch for one way the franchise can continue, for example. The Scottish actress responded positively to a fan’s suggestion that we get a Nebula and Gamora spinoff, with Gillan offering that it should be a prequel so that she doesn’t have to hide her hair under a blue bald cap anymore. If that’s her ultimate aim, though, maybe we could also get more of Blonde Nebula from What If…?
More of the latest from Planet Marvel – like one Guardians star’s shocking insistence that there should’ve been even more F-bombs in Vol. 3 – will enter your orbit soon enough.