When James Gunn announced earlier this year that would return to oversee Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he mentioned that not only will that movie conclude the Guardians trilogy, it would also set the stage for the Marvel cosmic universe for the next decade. What this means for Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, Groot, Nebula and Mantis as a team unit is unclear. Maybe they'll still all be together by the time Vol. 3 concludes, or maybe they'll have disbanded. Either way, expect the story following this current iteration of the Guardians to wrap up in three years. But with some/all of the Guardians sticking around the MCU afterwards, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 having introduced the "original" Guardians and plenty of other cosmic Marvel characters who still haven't been introduced in the MCU, there's a lot to look forward to in this franchise outside of an Earth setting.