‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’: Every Cameo Explained

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is already juggling a plethora of characters we've grown to love over the last decade, yet director James Gunn is still able to find time for quite a few cameos in his final Marvel film. Of course, most of the last film in the trilogy's focus is on the titular Guardians, showing them grappling with the events of Avengers: Endgame and displaying how certain characters deal with demons from their past. Though the main members of the team certainly have the bulk of the spotlight, the film does cram in more than a few cameos, some of which are pretty tough to spot on first viewing.

Surprise cameo appearances are hardly anything new for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, this is a franchise constantly expanding and introducing new characters to its vast and diverse universe. In case you want a recap of the familiar faces who make a brief appearance in the latest MCU film, here are all the celebrity cameos (that we could find) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Nathan Fillion

Many of the cameos are brought to life by people who have a history with James Gunn, and that goes double for longtime Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion. Shortly after Fillion became a cult classic sensation when he played Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the oh-so-short-lived Firefly, Fillion would then star in James Gunn's feature directorial debut, Slither.

Since then, Fillion has appeared in nearly every single film from the acclaimed filmmaker. That includes the original Guardians of the Galaxy film, where Fillion had a voice-over cameo as a big blue prisoner that the group encounters when they're sent to the Kyln prison. Fillion was also supposed to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in a much more significant capacity, where he was set to play the character of Wonder Man in his MCU debut. Unfortunately, the scene was cut from the film and so was Fillion's version of the character, and now Wonder Man is being reworked into the MCU via a Disney+ series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (although Fillion would later get a chance to play Wonder Man in Hulu's M.O.D.O.K.)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sees Fillion play yet another new character, this time as a sentry for the Orgocorp corporation. While he's busy berating a new sentry and calling him a dunce, the Guardians break into the research facility, so they can get the tech they need to save Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Seeing Nathan Fillion in anything will always be a treat, but he's not the only cameo we see during the Orgocorp heist.

Jennifer Holland

Not only has James Gunn partnered with Jennifer Holland in his film work, but they're also partners in real life. That's because Gunn and Holland got married in 2022, so it makes sense that she would have a brief role in the film.

Holland is undoubtedly best known for her role in the DCEU as Emilia Harcourt, who has appeared in every recent DC film. That includes her introduction in The Suicide Squad, her leading role in Peacemaker, and Harcourt's brief cameo appearances in both Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods.

Like Fillion, Harcourt's character is also a security employee of the Orgocorp corporation, but instead of being a sentry, she's the one monitoring the cameras of the base and checking for any unwanted intruders.

Daniela Melchior

Daniela Melchior is the one actor who we knew was going to be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before the film's release. It's somewhat disappointing that she's only playing a minor cameo role here, but it's still nice to see she's still working with James Gunn.

Melchior also first worked with Gunn in The Suicide Squad, playing Ratcatcher 2, the sleepy daughter of the original Ratcatcher (Taika Waititi). Daniela Melchior is also planning to stay in the action genre for quite some time, with her set to appear in Fast X and the Road House remake.

Melchior is the third and final person who is an employee of Orgocorp corp, working as a receptionist who Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) tries to charm. Peter's charisma (kind of) works, as Melchior's character does reluctantly agree to help Peter save his friends from the sentries.

Judy Greer

While Judy Greer is one of the only cameos in the film who isn't a James Gunn regular, we have seen her in the MCU before. That's because Greer plays Scott Lang's (Paul Rudd) ex-wife Maggie, who can be seen being a concerned mother figure for the eight billionth time in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Greer plays a completely different character. Instead of a loving and well-intentioned mother, she plays the monstrous swine cyborg War Pig, a loyal henchman of The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). She has a bit of a tussle with Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), but quickly gets her head ripped clean off by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter).

Seth Green

howard-the-duck-tim-robbins — Image via Universal Pictures

Seth Green is legendary for his voice-over work in Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and more. Even that shows when he's able to breathe life into one of Marvel's most hated characters of all time.

Believe it or not, one of the first Marvel characters to ever get a film adaptation was Howard the Duck, and his big-screen debut is one of the most infamous movies ever made. Since then, the character has become a running gag, and he still is. Howard got his big-screen debut in the end-credits scene of the first Guardians of the Galaxy, where we see he was one of the many lifeforms imprisoned by the Collector (Benicio Del Toro). The alcoholic duck pops up again very briefly in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and even participated in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame.

We see Howard the Duck (once again voiced by Seth Green) appear in a poker game with Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), and a few other familiar faces.

Christopher Fairbank

The Fifth Element's own Christopher Fairbank makes an unexpected but welcome return to the franchise. Also at that poker game is the character known as The Broker, who once tried to buy a mysterious artifact from Peter Quill in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. He backs out when he learns that Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) also wants the artifact, but its good to see that he and the Guardians have reconciled over a game of poker (or whatever the space version of poker they're playing is).

Rhett Miller

In case you didn't know already, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special isn't just canon with the rest of the MCU, it's actually essential viewing. That's proven true with the third member of the poker game, the alien band leader from the Disney+ special.

The musically inclined alien is played by Rhett Miller, the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. His other bandmates play the other members of the fictional band seen in the special, as they try in vain to make their own Christmas song despite them not really knowing what Christmas is. Still, despite the inaccuracy of the song, it's still pretty darn catchy.

Michael Rooker

Finally, no James Gunn movie would be complete without an appearance from Michael Rooker, but it's still something of a surprise to see Yondu appear again.

Rooker is, for all intents and purposes, James Gunn's good luck charm, as he has appeared in every single film directed by the filmmaker. Slither, Super, both Guardians of the Galaxy films, and The Suicide Squad all feature Rooker in all his glory. His role as Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy is arguably the actor's most significant role in a Gunn film yet, starting off as a rough and gruff minor antagonist and evolving into a misunderstood father figure. His death in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 reigns supreme as one of the most emotional and impactful death sequences in all of the MCU.

Yondu's death in the prior Guardians movie seemed to indicate that Rooker would sit out Vol. 3, yet when Kraglin is about to try using Yondu's trusty arrow once again, the blue Ravager appears to his first mate via a vision to give the aspiring hero a confidence boost.