James Gunn’s Super Secret ‘Guardians’ Easter Egg Apparently Won’t Stay Secret Forever

Ten years ago, the Guardians of the Galaxy weren’t well known to a mass audience. Now? They have their own successful film franchise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as being part of that larger sandbox interacting with the Avengers.

Director James Gunn has been the main creative driver behind the films, and it’s hard to argue with his success. But with a third movie on the way to close out the trilogy, Gunn commented recently on the upcoming reveal of a certain Easter Egg from the first film following the series’ epic conclusion. 

James Gunn and the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ series

Before coming to Marvel, Gunn was known for directing edgy horror comedies. 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy saw him introduced to a mainstream audience.

The film brought together five unlikely heroes (Star Lord, Rocket, Drax, Gamora, and Groot) to make for what became a surprise hit film. While the Avengers patrolled Earth in the MCU, the Guardians served as the MCU’s cosmic custodians. 

Not to be outdone, Gunn followed up the first film with a second Guardians movie which was also successful at the box office and with critics. An online controversy saw Gunn briefly fired from the production of the third film. Eventually, Disney rehired him, and after a delay, he’s now planning to be behind the director’s chair for the trilogy’s third movie as well. 

The secret ‘Guardians’ Easter Egg James Gunn promised

One part of the MCU that fans look forward to is seeing Easter Eggs reminding them of characters and plot lines from the pages of Marvel Comics. Gunn has inserted plenty of Easter Eggs into the Guardians films, including a mystery Easter Egg that Gunn said has yet to be spotted.

According to Digital Spy, Gunn said there is one Easter Egg in the first one that fans haven’t completely discovered yet. In a 2019 Twitter post, Gunn did say it had been partially uncovered but did not reveal more context. He didn’t say who did the uncovering or what scene this was in reference to. 

Plenty of fans have ventured guesses at Gunn, and he’s shot down just about any seemingly credible theory. One fan took to Twitter to ask if there was a reference to Marvel character Galactus Gunn had snuck in, and the director said there was not. 

So will Gunn tease fans forever? Or will he eventually reveal the massive secret he’s been tantalizing them with for years? 

James Gunn’s super secret ‘Guardians’ Easter Egg won’t stay a secret forever

There’s good news and bad news about Gunn’s mystery Easter Egg. The good news is that Gunn has revealed he’s going to uncover it eventually. The bad news is that he said he won’t spill the beans until he’s done directing the third Guardians movie, so fans will have to wait a few years to find out more. 

A Reddit thread dedicated to discussing this issue highlighted a Twitter exchange between Gunn and a fan. The fan asked if Gunn would ever share the Easter Egg. Gunn replied that he would do so after he was done with the trilogy. 

That doesn’t mean a fan can’t guess it before then. But the identity of the Easter Egg has been so tough for fans to pinpoint that it’s tough to imagine them finding it now after nearly seven years of searching. While Gunn did reveal one fan has partially uncovered it (and that the fan knows who they are), it may be a while before anyone completely puts all the pieces together.