Chris Pratt Confirms Star-Lord Will Return to the MCU

Chris Pratt has confirmed that Star-Lord will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and he says the studio has already moved beyond talk. The actor, who has played Peter Quill across six films, made the statement on The Playlist's "Bingeworthy" podcast.

Pratt attributed the progress to his relationships with two top Marvel executives, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D'Esposito. He kept his language concrete and his timeline vague.

"I have a great relationship with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D'Esposito], and there have been both ongoing conversations about how we make good on that promise and also hard action taken to make sure that we make good on that promise," Pratt said. "So yeah, you'll see Star-Lord again, which is very exciting, but I'm not at liberty to say when that's going to be, but he's not going anywhere."

What did Pratt pitch Marvel?

The confirmation follows months of open campaigning by the actor. Pratt previously revealed on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast that he had personally pitched Marvel an idea for Star-Lord's comeback, and he was blunt about its quality.

"I'm happy to do anything they want me to do and will," Pratt said of Marvel. "And also, I personally have a really strong vision of what I would want him to do. And I think it's fucking great."

Asked whether he had brought that pitch directly to Feige, Pratt gave a one-word answer and then framed his ambition in terms of Marvel's long-term slate. "Yep. And I think that, you know, I'm down to contribute any way I can to them setting up the next 10 years of storytelling, you know?" he said. "And also, I have a pretty strong idea of how I think I could contribute to that."

Where has Star-Lord appeared so far?

Pratt's Star-Lord has anchored the Guardians franchise and crossed into two of the highest-grossing films ever made. The character's six MCU appearances to date are:

• "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)
• "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017)
• "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)
• "Avengers: Endgame" (2019)
• "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022)
• "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023)

The 2023 threequel closed with a credits-scene text card promising that "the Legendary Star-Lord will return" — a pledge Pratt's new comments suggest Marvel now intends to honor. That is the takeaway: the return is no longer fan speculation but a stated project with, in Pratt's words, "hard action" behind it.

When could the return happen?

No date has been announced. The next MCU installment, "Avengers: Doomsday," reaches theaters on Dec. 18, and Pratt's refusal to name a timeframe leaves open whether Star-Lord resurfaces there or in a standalone project further down Marvel's ten-year roadmap.