Following a brief post-credit scene at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 in which pop star and actor Miley Cyrus appeared as Ravager team member Mainframe, fans could've expected this was a tease to a larger role for the singer in the series going forward - as is typical MCU fashion. However, with the release of that film's sequel Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 upon us, it's bad news for Miley Cyrus fans as the character of Mainframe has been recast, now played by Loki star Tara Strong.
With Miley Cyrus seeing great success in the musical side of her career this year, it may be easy to forget the star came to international attention acting in Disney Channel's hit series Hannah Montana. Cyrus' most recent venture into acting however was during season 5 of Netflix's Black Mirror, in which she starred as fictional pop-star Ashley O.
Despite Cyrus' departure, the role of Mainframe is in good hands, with replacement Tara Strong being no stranger to the world of voice acting. Strong starred in popular children's show The Fairly OddParents as Timmy Turner, as well as appearing in another Marvel outing: 2021's Loki as Miss Minutes. The recasting marks a rare case of a post-credit tease not quite materializing as promised, as the studio spearheaded the trend of setting up a franchise's future installments following the film's conclusion, with Marvel having a fairly clean track record of following these teases up. The trope began with the MCU's inception all the way back at the conclusion of 2008's Iron Man.
Why Was Cyrus' Role Recast?
At this point it's unclear what the reasoning for the recasting is, particularly seeing as the film's director James Gunn was particularly complimentary of the star when speaking to Buzzfeed News. In that interview, Gunn said "I was admiring the tone of Miley Cyrus's voice. I find her funny and likable and sweet... So I was like, I think she would be a funny person to have as a voice [in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2]. So we contacted her, and she said yes. She came in and recorded, and she was a delight to work with." The feeling appeared to have been mutual, with Cyrus interacting with Gunn on Twitter as recently as 2021, writing "I miss you guys so much," alongside a robot emoji in reference to her MCU character. However, following the recent success of her latest album Endless Summer Vacation and smash-hit "Flowers", it'd be safe to assume that the singer's attention currently lays elsewhere.
A Miley Cyrus-less Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5. You can watch the trailer below: