Warning: This is an article about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so spoilers lie ahead
It’s been a few days since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters and–if you’re anything like us–you’re just as impressed with how well the sequel turned out.  We laughed, we cried, we were blown away by Ego’s beautiful feathered hair. And when we weren’t distracted by the cuteness of Baby Groot or how well Kurt Russell has aged, we were scouring the screen for any Easter eggs and references to the rest of the MCU.
Director James Gunn prides himself on hiding things in plain sight for fans to find and has even held onto a specific Easter egg from the first film that he doesn’t ever want to give up.There’s a lot to of room for sleuthing in this franchise and with Guardians 2, we’ve now got even more footage to dig through. So, in the spirit of Taneleer “The Collector” Tivan, we’ve gathered up our favorite Easter eggs and references from the new film.
1. Howard The Duck
Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) makes his second appearance in the MCU early on in the film. He’s seen fairly early on in the film partying it up with the Ravagers on Contraxia.
2. Cosmo the Spacedog
A still image of the telepathic space pup–first seen as a living exhibit of The Collector in the first film–is seen in a still image in the new film’s credits.
3. Rob Zombie, Jimmy Urine, David Hasselhoff, Steve Agee Cameos
Jimmy Urine, lead singer of Mindless Self Indulgence, and comedian Steve Agee can be seen in the film as part of the Ravagers who mutiny against Yondu. Additionally, Rob Zombie is credited as playing “Unseen Ravager.”https://twitter.com/MeltdownComics/status/861734534219407360David Hasselhoff’s cameo is a bit more obvious as he plays himself when Ego transforms into his likeness. Hasselhoff also appears on the soundtrack in a song called “Guardians Inferno” by The Sneepers ( a really deep Marvel reference from the 1960s).
4. The Grandmaster & Fighting Kronan
There are two direct nods to the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok with Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster seen briefly in the film’s credits dancing along with the rest of the characters.More eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed the other reference in the space-jump scene where Rocket, Yondu, and Kraglin make their way to Ego’s system. Two creatures can be seen fighting and look like the rocky Kronan species that appeared briefly in the first Thor film. The director of Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi, will be voicing the Kronan warrior named Korg who joined forces with Hulk in the comics.
5. Eternity
Peter Quill whispering “eternity” with spacey black eyes while Ego manipulated him cannot be a coincidence. Since James Gunn packs so much into his films, it’s not hard to believe that the Marvel character Eternity will come into play somewhere down the line. Especially considering Eternity’s tendency to show up whenever the Infinity Stones are collected.
6. Grandpa Quill and James Gunn’s Parents
Good ol’ Grandpa Quill (Gregg Henry) is almost swallowed up by Ego’s amorphous blob on Earth as he drives away from it. James Gunn’s parents weren’t so lucky as their seen mere feet away from the blue mass taking pictures of it before it engulfs them.
7. Adam Warlock, The Original Guardians, and Miley Cyrus(??)
The post-credits scenes have quite a few references including what we can all safely assume is the creation of Adam Warlock. Though his cinematic origin is a bit different than in the comics, the gold-skinned Sovereign creating him simplifies things a bit in the MCU.Sylvester Stallone’s role as Stakar “Starhawk” Ogord will likely expand in future of the MCU since he is responsible for one of the first Guardians of the Galaxy teams from the comics. The team includes Starhawk, Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Mainframe (Miley Cyrus), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum), and Krugarr. The last member is particularly interesting as he’s got mystical abilities and has teamed up with Doctor Strange in the comics.
8. Stan Lee and The Watchers
It wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without a Stan Lee cameo and this one was especially interesting. He is credited as the Watchers informant in the film, which sheds light on what he’s been doing in every single Marvel movie since the dawn of time. He’s seen speaking to The Watchers and mentions “that time he was a Fedex delivery guy” referencing his cameo in Captain America: Civil War. Could he be Uatu the Watcher just earning his watching stripes?Of course there’s tons more references and Easter eggs we left out but let’s discuss what we didn’t list here and ones you may have discovered on your own in the comments below!
Here is what we know about Guardian of the Galaxy 3:
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Images:Â Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios, Marvel Comics
