In the Guardians of the Galaxy films, we learn that Chris Pratt’s Peter “Star-Lord” Quill is no stranger to 80s pop culture. The films make dozens of references to the decade, and this continues by casting big stars like Kurt Russell. But what if Russell actually existed within the film’s continuity?
A Reddit user has invented several interesting theories about Russell and the paradox his role creates, suggesting a whole new perspective on his character.
“So when Ego assumes his “human” form and heads to Earth during the 80’s, he is identical to young Kurt Russell who was a mega-star during that time period in pop culture. With no call out to that similarity, I think there is an argument to say that the universe we see in the MCU is completely without the actual Kurt Russell. Now there are two questions that come up.
Is it possible, that through simple probability, Ego just happened to take Kurt Russell’s form and since Meredith Quill knew that he was from space she accepted this fact and just didn’t mention it to Peter? I don’t think so. Because one would assume that if she was aware of the resemblance she would have given Peter a picture of Kurt Russell to carry around…not letting him choose David Hasselhoff to be his “imaginary” father.
Does that mean that all actors who play heroes and villains alike can’t exist as the actual actors in the universe? Because with all the famous people involved there has most likely been a reference to a piece of real-world pop culture that included an actor that was already playing a character in the MCU. That’s enough to make your head spin. My argument against this really just comes down to the timing. The other actor’s characters exist in that closed bubble, however since Ego traveled to the 80’s when Kurt Russell was thriving..that kind of direct overlap makes me question it.”
It’s definitely an interesting theory, which opens up a can of worms that can be applied to any MCU character and actor. Yet I can’t help but think it’s like a rather iconic scene from Last Action Hero. Where the main character tries to persuade Arnold he’s really just a movie character and shows him a promotional Terminator 2 cutout to prove it; only to discover Sylvester Stallone plays as the Terminator within that film’s universe.
What do you think, could Russell exist simultaneously in the MCU with his Ego character? And perhaps alongside other Marvel actors as well? Let us know in the comments section below!