Recent news has surfaced confirming that one actor involved in Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe was cut.
In just over one month, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will continue with Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). The film is the only one from Marvel Studios this year and looks set to soft reboot many facets of the franchise.
Following this, Phase Five will continue next year with Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Thunderbolts* (2025), The Fantastic Four (2025), and Blade (2025). The latter has been in development hell for a while and, following Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent comments may get cut from next year’s slate.
The MCU’s development and production strategy were rewritten after a turbulent 2023 that included two of the worst-performing titles to date.
Both Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and The Marvels (2023) from Nia DaCosta proved to be challenging at the box office, with The Marvels becoming the worst-performing in franchise history. The Brie Larson-led sequel netted just over $200 million globally, a quarter of what Captain Marvel (2019) took five years ago.
Sandwiched between the two lukewarm sequels was James Gunn’s final foray with the beloved Guardians of the Galaxy. Gunn began working with Marvel Studios on the film ten years ago, in 2014. Three years later, a sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), was released.
After a firing and rehiring controversy, Gunn returned to close out his trilogy, confirming well before the release of the movie that it would be the last ride for this specific group of characters.
Gunn has since gone on to become the joint Chief Executive Officer of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran and has been given the responsibility of resurrecting the DC film and TV universe. His appointment to the position came after the director and writer worked on The Suicide Squad (2021) and the Peacemaker TV series.
His first feature film in the new DC Universe (DCU) will be Superman(2025), starring David Corenswet as the new Clark Kent.
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 did prove to be an ending of sorts for the disparate group of misfits, many doors were left open.
After overcoming the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), brash adventurer Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Kraglin (Sean Gunn) parted ways, officially disbanding the group.
That said, the post-credits scene confirmed that a new iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy had been born. With Rocket, Groot, and Kraglin still in the team, the squad grew to include Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Phyla (Kai Zen), and Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova).
Throughout the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, audiences have received increasingly detailed backstories about its characters. The central story, though, remains with Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, who was abducted by the Ravagers shortly after his mother died.
Led by Michael Rooker’s Yondu Udonta, other notable members of the Ravager clan include Taserface (Chris Sullivan), Molly (Molly Quinn), and Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum).
Michael Rosenbaum just revealed that a chunk of his part in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was significantly cut.
“I mean, the role was supposed to be a lot bigger. They cut a lot out,” Rosenbaum told ComicBook‘s Chris Killian at Nashville Comicon. “Well, you were supposed to see, it was written in the script to see Martinex’s powers, which were really cool. But they had so much to talk about in the script that they ended up cutting it out in the end. And there was some other stuff.”
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 followed Star-Lord and the rest of the squad into unknown territory as the leader confronted his father, Ego (Kurt Russell). Despite having lost screentime, Rosenbaum, who grew to international recognition playing Lex Luthor in Smallville, has no hard feelings.
“But it was fun. For me, it’s like, I’m working with my friends, I get paid, I’m in a big Marvel movie, life could suck worse,” the Marvel actor said. “You know what I mean? I’m very grateful.”
It’s clear that the iteration of the Guardians that audiences have grown accustomed to over the last decade will not be reuniting in the same capacity. That said, there are opportunities for any of them to return.
The post-credits scene of Vol. 3 confirmed that Star-Lord will return, and rumors have floated suggesting this could be in the upcoming Nova series, which is in development, or in 2027 when Avengers: Secret Wars drops in theaters.
Related: “Avengers Assemble” Reboot Confirmed as Classic Squad Reunited at Marvel
On Nova, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum recently confirmed the Nova development and revealed Marvel’s “new system,” which sees more shows being developed than produced.
Are you hoping to see the return of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the MCU? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
