For Marvel fans driven to seek out every shred of MCU story, Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn says the latest Disney ride tie-in is not part of the MCU's canon. On Twitter, Gunn wrote that the ride is, "in its own universe", meaning Marvel fans shouldn't take the story and easter eggs within the ride too seriously.
It’s in its own universe
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 20, 2021
Before you laugh, the canonical status of Galaxy's Edge's Star Wars rides has been discussed for years. According to Star Wars Fandom, the Star Tours business, characters, and ships are canon, while the stories that take place on the ride itself are not canon. The events that take place around Galaxy's Edge are also meant to be canon, even though the characters repeat them day after day so all guests can experience it. There's no need for MCU fans to wonder now, as Gunn's tweet can extinguish any questions of the new ride's place in the canon.
The new Guardians ride does include the actors from the MCU's Guardians, and it's coming to Disney World in Florida next summer. It includes the very first Disneyland reverse roller coaster launch, and Disney says it's one of the longest enclosed coasters in the world.
Disneyland already has its own Guardians of the Galaxy ride, called Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout. When the ride opened back in 2017, we said, "the vast majority who go on it will leave with a big grin on their face."
The Guardians are going to be busy over the next couple years. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will premiere on Disney+ next holiday season, and Gunn has said the special does take place within the MCU, after Thor: Love and Thunder, which Chris Pratt is also set to appear in.
Then, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2023. Last month, Chris Pratt was on the movie's set as the cast and crew was gearing up to start filming. The Guardians could go quiet after these two projects, as Vol. 3 may be the last Guardians film with the current team. We don't know a ton about the movie, but it recently cast Will Poulter as Adam Warlock
For more, check out Marvel's original plan to introduce the Guardians of the Galaxy with four short films.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.