Guardians of the Galaxy: 24 Hidden Details in the Marvel Movie
They’re cool, they’re different, they become unlikely allies: the Guardians of the Galaxy are now well-identified heroes of the Marvel universe and the first installment of their saga is full of winks and easter eggs. hidden!
Remember the summer of 2014, we discovered in cinemas The Guardians of the Galaxy, a new opus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a whole new team of anti-heroes, made up of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot? and Rocket Raccoon. At the time, the film was a hit, seducing the public with its light tone, its unusual characters and its scathing humor.
Today, discover its most discreet and buried secrets.
A face already seen
The interpreter of Meredith Quill, the mother of Star-Lord, is none other than Laura Haddock, who also played a fan of Captain America in First Avenger. She joins the long list of actors to have performed two roles in the MCU. Because indeed, she is far from being the only one!
A strange skeleton
These bones of extraterrestrial origin that we see briefly next to Star-Lord could represent a Korbinite, inhabitant of the planet Korbin in the comics. No other references to these characters have been made in the MCU to date.
t shirt buddies
The young woman occupying the Milano with Star-Lord at the start of the film wears the same t-shirt as little Peter Quill seen at the start of the film.
The voice of the Sakaarans
These hostile creatures are voiced by director James Gunn himself.
A familiar symbol
Fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy paper version will have recognized this logo, which is that of the team in the comics, here worn by one of the members of the Ravagers, an interstellar crime syndicate.
The Milano
Information confirmed by James Gunn, the spaceship of Star-Lord is named in homage to the actress Alyssa Milano, famous for her roles in Charmed and Madam is served, and of which Peter Quill is a big fan.
References to the 80s
Star-Lord’s ship has several typical 80s accessories, including a “troll” toy that is used later in the film, and an Alf sticker, from the eponymous series. Alf who also had his own series at Marvel Comics.
Dog Day Cameo
This dog that appears in hologram is none other than director James Gunn’s dog, Dr. Wesley Von Spears, who died in 2020 at almost 17 years old, and who also appears in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
Skrull language
Stan Lee’s cameo has a well-hidden detail: an inscription reads in Skrull language “Excelsior!” which was the Avengers co-creator’s favorite line. A Latin expression that has a very special meaning.
Lyla
In the comics, Lylla is an otter girlfriend of Rocket Raccoon. Will we know more about her in a future Guardians feature film or was it just a wink placed there by James Gunn? To be continued. She appears in any case in the Telltale video game Guardians of the Galaxy.
Voice cameo
This tall alien who fusses with the Guardians during the prison scene is voiced by actor Nathan Fillion, a friend of director James Gunn who starred in his feature films Super and Horribilis. He also plays the metahuman TDK in The Suicide Squad.
A Celestial
The Celestials are overpowered cosmic entities who created the Deviants, the Krees or the Eternals. They possess a gigantic humanoid appearance and it is the head of one of them that can be seen in the film.
Tribute to Frankenstein’s Creature
The scene where Groot grows a flower in his hand and gives it to a little girl echoes that of Frankenstein, in which a little girl gives the creature a flower. Alas for her, in the 1931 film, the little one is thrown into the water after having offered her present.
A nod to Iron Man
The shape of the place in which Gamora and Star-Lord live a privileged moment is reminiscent of the arc reactor which serves as the heart of Iron Man.
Cosmo the space dog
The Soviet dog Cosmo, endowed with telekinesis, and who allied himself for a time with the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics, appears in the Collector, like a lot of other surprises.
A Chitauri
The Collector also has a Chitauri, a species that attacks Earth in Avengers under Loki’s orders.
howard the duck
Before appearing in the post-credits scene with the voice of Seth Green, Howard the duck is visible, seemingly sad and resigned, in a cage in the Collector. This character got his own feature film in 1986, Howard… a new breed of hero, a resounding failure.
strange leeches
The leech-like creatures visible in one of the cages are from a previous James Gunn film, the horror film Horribilis (2006).
Adam Warlock
This cocoon will have caused a lot of ink to flow. Supposed to contain superhero Adam Warlock, fans thought he would appear in Avengers 3 and 4, but that didn’t happen. James Gunn clarified that it was a joke in the first Guardian. This is why when we see the cocoon again in Guardians 2, it is different and Warlock plays a major role in Guardians 3.
A dark elf
A dark elf is also a prisoner of the Collector. We had already seen this species at work in Thor: The Dark World, released a year before The Guardians.
The Avengers are in the movie!
When the Collector’s lair explodes under the effect of the Power Gem, we can see hidden references to the Avengers: a spider for Black Widow, a starry circle reminiscent of Iron Man’s heart, a radiation symbol echoing radiation gamma of Hulk, a circle resembling Captain America’s shield, and a large pipe with features similar to Thor’s hammer.
12%
When Star-Lord brings up a plan that has a 12% chance of working, it may recall Tony Stark’s line to Pepper in Iron Man, when he tells her she’s 12% responsible for creating Avengers Tower. (actually, much more, Pepper refers to the tower as “her baby”).
Sean Gunn
The director’s brother plays Kraglin, one of Yondu’s men, and performs the captured performance of Rocket Raccoon on set.
Baby Groot’s dance
Director James Gunn did the choreography himself, which was then applied to the young plant in its pot using special effects.
A strange skeleton
These bones of extraterrestrial origin could represent a Korbinite, inhabitant of the planet Korbin in the comics.
