The original Guardians of the Galaxy script gave Star-Lord a different father, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was set to adhere to the comics. One of the biggest questions fans had after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014 was about the identity of Peter Quill’s father. Marvel’s comics made Star-Lord the son of J’son, the ruler of the Spartax Empire, but the MCU positioned itself to make a major change to Peter Quill’s heritage.

Star-Lord’s dad was only teased a few times during Guardians of the Galaxy, such as when Star-Lord’s mom called him an angel composed of pure light. Viewers then learned at the very end of the movie that Yondu was originally hired by the mysterious figure to abduct a young Peter and reunite him with his father. The film also included the tease that Star-Lord’s dad was a Celestial, but it wasn’t until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that his identity as Ego the Living Planet was revealed. This change from the source material amplified Star-Lord’s powers momentarily and was very well-received thanks to Kurt Russell’s performance. However, it appears the MCU originally went the traditional route when it came to Star-Lord’s dad.

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Marvel Studios spent years developing Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now confirmed J’son was Star-Lord’s father at first. The all-encompassing book detailed how in 2012, the early script for James Gunn’s movie being used at this time revealed that Peter Quill was J’son’s son. Guardians of the Galaxy would’ve established J’son as an emperor, making Star-Lord a prince. Marvel asked Joss Whedon to look over the script ahead of Avengers: Age of Ultron and he detested this reveal. He went on to strongly suggest that Peter shouldn’t be royalty, and Marvel implemented that note to “course-correct Quill’s storyline.”

This early version of Guardians of the Galaxy would’ve resulted in a very different movie for multiple reasons. For starters, Gunn’s final movie refrained from confirming the identity of Star-Lord’s father. This version of the film outright confirmed he was J’son’s descendant in some fashion. The Spartax Empire would then surely either be featured or set up to appear in the MCU’s future as a result. It’s also plausible that Quill’s royalty heritage would’ve changed his personality. At the very least, it would probably help Star-Lord be famous. Ultimately, Marvel and Gunn moved away from this version of Guardians of the Galaxy and delivered a film that allowed them to make the Ego reveal in the sequel.

What makes this reveal all the more fascinating to consider is James Gunn’s opinion of J’son. He’s been quite vocal over the years that he doesn’t like the character or how it makes Quill’s story feel too much like Star Wars. However, this version of Guardians of the Galaxy‘s script was written by Nicole Perlman and was still being used as the basis for the movie when Gunn agreed to direct it. Instead of J’son’s removal from Star-Lord’s story being a change that came as Gunn began reworking the script, it appears that Whedon is the one responsible for pushing Marvel to make that change. Of course, Gunn also hated Star-Lord’s story direction that made J’son his father, so it’s plausible he wouldn’t have been in Guardians of the Galaxy even if Whedon was never consulted.

Key Release Dates
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  • Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Cooper Hood
(5614 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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