Updated February 5, 2021 24.2K votes 5.6K voters 456.0K views
Voting Rules
Vote up the theories you think will become a reality in the Guardians universe.
It's practically impossible to throw a virtual stick these days without hitting a Marvel fan theory someone has posted on the internet. The most popular media franchise in the world (with arguably the most dedicated fan base) is guaranteed to produce pages and pages of fan speculation directed at characters like Spider-Man and the Avengers. However, one branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a greater scope - and more opportunity for theorizing - than the rest of them, and that's led to oodles of Guardians of the Galaxy fan theories popping up all over social media.
Theories about Guardians of the Galaxy range from making sense of the ambiguous backstories of the central cast to the bigger mysteries hiding in that galaxy not so far away. Director James Gunn has done such a remarkably thorough job of world-building in these films that it allows fans to enjoy the tantalizing feeling their speculation may actually uncover some hidden and intentional secret.
1
2,826 VOTES
Mantis Didn’t Understand Her Complicity In Ego’s Crimes… Until She Touched Drax
The character of Mantis is one of the more obscure Marvel properties out there, but she quickly became a fan favorite after Pom Klementieff’s adorable portrayal in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In fact, Mantis is such a fan favorite that many ignore the fact she’s actually complicit in Ego’s murdering of dozens of his own progeny. It wasn’t until her new friends, the Guardians, were in danger that Mantis acted against Ego, but Redditor/u/Petronella23 thinks they know why that is.
Mantis decides to warn the Guardians after a scene in which she touches Drax while he is reminiscing about his daughter and feels his extreme sorrow. Redditor/u/Pentronella23 theorizes it was in this moment Mantis learned normal people don’t callously slaughter their children and are actually meant to care about them - which led to her sudden realization that what Ego was doing was seriously messed up.
2,826 votes
2
2,604 VOTES
Yondu Saving Peter Is The Reason Why Peter Has Celestial Powers
There are a number of dark twists in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but the fact Ego has been slaughtering his own children for centuries is certainly among the darkest. Ego had been on a lifelong quest to sire a child with the “Celestial gene,” but failed every time - until he met Peter Quill. For some reason, Quill had the Celestial gene and access to Ego’s powers, and Redditor/u/DrArgumental speculates Yondu Udonta is the reason why.
All of the rest of Ego’s children were delivered to him at a young age and then killed when they proved useless to him. Quill, on the other hand, was rescued from this fate by Yondu, which allowed him to grow to adulthood. DrArgumental theorizes the Celestial gene becomes active sometime during puberty, and Quill was simply the only child of Ego allowed to live long enough to gain Celestial abilities.
2,604 votes
3
2,160 VOTES
There's A Reason Why Groot Won't Dance In Front Of Drax
On at least two separate occasions, audiences witness Baby Groot immediately halting his joyful dancing when Drax is looking at him, but it’s never made explicit why he does this. Redditor/u/LtCommanderCarter thinks the reason Groot doesn’t want Drax to see him dancing is rather simple - he knows about Drax’s disdain for dancing, and doesn’t want to upset his friend.
As LtCommanderCarter says, “Groot does this because he wants Drax to love and respect him. Drax talks about his deceased wife in GotG 2 and notes that she never danced and that was a good thing. Not giving into the frivolity of dancing is a positive attribute in Drax's eyes; thus Groot does not let Drax see him dance.”
2,160 votes
4
1,579 VOTES
Earth Is The Only Planet In The MCU With Advanced Musical Taste
The Walkman and mixtapes left to Peter Quill by his late mother are obviously a big deal to him, but they also seem to be a big deal to nearly everyone else he meets. Quill’s Guardian teammates all love his tunes, a prison guard tries to steal them, and the Ravagers even take the time to digitally clone all his songs. Why the obsession with Earth music? As Redditor/u/Codoro theorizes, it could be because in the MCU, Earth is the only planet with any semblance of advanced musical taste.
Drax does describe some basic tribal music from his home planet, but it could be that Earth is the only civilization to advance beyond primitive rhythm to the greatness of acts like Cheap Trick and Electric Light Orchestra.
1,579 votes
5
1,414 VOTES
'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' Will Feature Flashbacks To The Original Guardians
Long-time readers of Marvel Comics know Star-Lord and the gang aren’t the original Guardians of the Galaxy - the team name was first used by a group of superheroes from the year 3000. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 revealed a version of these original Guardians, headed by Sylvester Stallone’s Starhawk and formerly featuring Yondu Udonta, who was permanently exiled. Redditor/u/JokerFaces2 theorizes audiences will get to see this Ravager team in action in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 via extensive flashbacks.
As an added bonus, this would allow for the return of Yondu, and that means Michael Rooker. To date, director James Gunn has yet to direct a movie without Rooker in it, so why would he want to start now?
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had one of the most memorable musical title sequences in cinematic history, thanks to Electric Light Orchestra and Baby Groot. The song “Mr. Blue Sky” certainly brought an up-tempo and joyful mood to the film’s opening, but Redditor/u/Codoro theorizes the song was chosen for a deeper, story-related reason.
Essentially, the theory goes that Yondu Udonta IS the “Mr. Blue Sky” referred to in the song. Specifically, these lyrics can be interpreted as a reference to Yondu's noble sacrifice.
“Mister Blue, you did it right,
But soon comes Mister Night creepin' over,
Now his hand is on your shoulder.
Never mind I'll remember you this,
I'll remember you this way,"
