Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 serves as James Gunn's farewell to this team and the MCU before he puts 100% of his focus on running DC Studios (and helming Superman: Legacy).
The filmmaker goes out on an undeniable high, delivering a rousing and emotional threequel that ranks among Marvel Studios' best movies. While things do get a little sad at times, there's plenty of fun to be had with the threequel and some big cameos fans of the director and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are bound to appreciate.
From long-forgotten faces from this franchise's past to legit fan-favourites and actors Gunn has a personal history with, there are a tonne of cameos that are all too easy to miss on a first viewing. Luckily, we have you covered with this breakdown!
To discover Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's biggest cameos, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button below.
Howard The Duck
Seth Green first played Howard the Duck in Guardians of the Galaxy's memorable post-credits scene when he escaped from The Collector's collection on Knowhere. He'd later appear in Vol. 2 and could even be spotted during Avengers: Endgame's final battle.
In Vol. 3, Howard - who is sporting a rather nifty new look - is back and part of a space-poker game on Knowhere alongside Kraglin, Cosmo, and a few other familiar faces...
Bzermikitokolok
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was an absolute delight and kicked off with The Old 97 singing "I Don't Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here)." Needless to say, that's still our new favourite Christmas song.
The band's lead singer and guitarist Rhett Miller is still rocking out on Knowhere, anyway, as Bzermikitokolok is also part of the aforementioned poker game.
The Broker
If this character's face rang a bell but you couldn't quite place him, don't worry. During the cameo-filled card game that's already delivered two memorable cameos, we see Christopher Fairbank's Broker make his return after first appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy.
For those of you who still don't remember, he was the merchant who worked on Xandar and agreed to buy the Orb from the Ravagers. Clearly, not everyone on the planet died when Thanos attacked!
Yondu
James Gunn always said he wouldn't resurrect Yondu after his heartbreaking demise in Vol. 2, and he's stayed true to his word. However, after appearing in an animated flashback in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Michael Rooker reprises the role in this threequel.
Appearing as a vision before the frightened Kraglin, he offers his former sidekick some key words of advice that help him use his boss' old arrow to fend off the attack on Knowhere.
Rocket's Friends
As we learn more about Rocket's origin story, we're introduced to the friends he made while imprisoned by The High Evolutionary. Lylla, Floor, and Teefs are voiced by Linda Cardellini, Mikaela Hoover, and Asim Chaudhry, respectively.
Later in the movie, a horrified Mantis frees one of the villain's most twisted experiments, but what you might not have realised is that Phlektik was voiced by The Suicide Squad star Pete Davidson!
Steemie
Stephen Blackeheart's Steemie had a knife put to his throat by Drax in the first movie but has stuck around as Knowhere's dispatcher, and also recently appeared in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
This time, he can be seen helping to evacuate the High Evolutionary's ship in what proves to be a nice throwback to a very minor character who clearly has his own story playing out in another corner of this shared world.
The Original Guardians
Not all of the original Guardians of the Galaxy (or Ravagers in the MCU) return for this threequel, but Sylvester Stallone is back as Stakar Ogord as is Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex. The latter now looks a lot more like the Smallville alum.
Loki star Tara Strong replaces singer Miley Cyrus as the voice of Mainframe, while the silent Krugarr also appears. We're not sure what became of Charlie-27 and Aleta Ogord.
A Few More Familiar Faces...
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally gives Nathan Fillion a proper MCU role as Orgoscope Guard Master Karja, while The Suicide Squad breakout Daniela Melchior (who played Ratcatcher II) shows up as an Orgoscope employee called Ura.
Ant-Man star Judy Greer lends her voice to War Pig in one of the movie's most unexpected cameos, and Peacemaker's Jennifer Holland (who is married to Gunn) delivers a memorable turn as Orgoscope Administrator Kwol.