Marvel’s Original Star-Lord Plan Would’ve Hurt Both GOTG Movies

Warning! Contains spoilers for the Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special!

Marvel’s original plan for Guardians of the Galaxy would have made J’son of Spartax Star-Lord’s dad. Teased as “a being composed of pure light” by Star-Lord’s mother Meredith, the mystery of Star-Lord’s father was heightened by Star-Lord’s ability to survive the power of the Infinity Stone at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy. This was og course because Star-Lord’s father is Ego, a celestial and living planet. The original script, however, would have revealed J’son, the emperor of Spartax, to be Star-Lord’s father in the first movie.

Joss Whedon and James Gunn both disliked the character of J’son of Spartax, so the decision was made to leave Peter Quill’s father a mystery during the first movie. In the comics, J’son is the merciless ruler of the Spartax Empire and wishes for his son to join him. While these sinister designs for Star-Lord resemble Ego’s plan for his son in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, featuring Star-Lord’s comic-book father J’son instead would have resulted in two very different movies. It also would’ve gotten in the way of the biggest twist in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special, and Gunn’s tragic plans for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Star-Lord’s Father Change Was Good For The Guardians Franchise

The inclusion of J’son of Spartax as Star-Lord’s father would have negatively impacted the entire GotG franchise. Star-Lord as the heir of a space monarch would have forced the MCU to follow many fantasy stories that focus on royal bloodlines — far less exciting and fantastical than Quill’s father being a literal living planet. Bringing J’son of Spartax to the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy would have irreparably altered the team dynamic. Even Peter Quill’s title, Star-Lord, would have been less endearing if he were royalty. Including J’son would also have prevented GotG vol. 2 from exploring paternal relationships through Star-Lord, Ego, and Yondu — key components of Star-Lord’s tragic MCU story.

As an origin story, Guardians of the Galaxy thrived on the chemistry between its leads. In addition to removing any mystery around Star-Lord’s dad, J’son would have interfered with this chemistry. A strength of Guardians of the Galaxy is how much room it has to tell its story, free to explore the cosmic elements of the MCU that previous movies hinted at. This freedom would have been lessened if the series also had to support a family drama in its first entry, and would have lessened the theme of chosen family among the Guardians.

In addition to harming the plot and themes of Guardians of the Galaxy, J’son of Spartax would also limit the character relationships in its sequel. Not content to settle for uninspiring source material, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 elaborated on the characters that had been introduced three years earlier. By getting rid of J’son’s MCU role in the original Guardians of the Galaxy script, James Gunn was able to use established character dynamics from the first movie and wring greater emotion out of the sequel, giving Yondu a backstory as a father figure to Peter Quill. The addition of Ego as Star-Lord’s dad, and his admission of killing Meredith Quill, made him both an effective villain and a mirror for Star-Lord.

Inevitably, the MCU’s adaptation of the Guardians of the Galaxy is often compared to older properties. While Spider-Man and other characters are burdened by decades of continuity, this incarnation of the Guardians only dates back to 2008. While other rogues galleries have stood the test of time, J’Son of Spartax is not yet a beloved villain, and James Gunn correctly decided to choose a different father for Star-Lord from among Marvel’s cosmic characters. With such a short history, it has been crucial that the Guardians find the correct chemistry for their MCU incarnation. The first two Guardians movies — and the Star Wars-inspired Guardians Holiday Special — have done that quite effectively, and with James Gunn at the helm of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it seems a safe bet to anticipate similar innovation.

The Holiday Special Continues Justifying J’son’s Absence

Guardians of the Galaxy‘s lack of Star-Lord’s comic book father, J’son, is further justified in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special‘s most important reveal: that Mantis is actually Peter Quill’s sister. This would have had a much different impact if J’son was Star-Lord’s father. Notably, Ego interacts only briefly with both Star-Lord and Mantis in the comics. The familial link the three share is another example of the MCU making changes that are actually better than the source material. In fact, as the Holiday Special has confirmed that Mantis is the daughter of Ego and is therefore part-celestial, Mantis’ powers in the MCU could grow exponentially in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and earn her a larger place in the Multiverse Saga — which might not be possible if James Gunn debuted J’son of Spartax instead of Ego in the MCU.