Usa news: Spoiler alert! This story discusses key plot points and the ending of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” so beware if you haven’t seen it.

For his grand “Guardians of the Galaxy” finale, director James Gunn stuck the landing, gave Marvel fans a happy ending and laid groundwork for where some of his cosmic misfits will end up next.

The good guys saved the day in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (in theaters now), though things are changing in that corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Gunn heads off to run the DC superhero landscape. Here’s how the final act and end-credit scenes of “Vol. 3” could affect the Marvel movie future.

Mantis (Pom Klementieff, from left), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are in a mission to save a teammate in the Marvel threequel “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
Kind of! As the movie begins, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) is wounded in an attack, and his teammates led by Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), search for a way to cure him. They succeed but also tussle with (and ultimately defeat) the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who experimented on the furry guy when he was a young raccoon. The Guardians rescue kids and animals the villain used as subjects, but in doing so, Peter ends up sacrificing himself to save everyone. Groot tries to extend his branches to save him as Peter’s caught in space, but the coldness breaks them, and Star-Lord’s face bloats and freezes as he seemingly dies. (Side note: Peter must have misplaced the cool headwear he had in the first film that allowed him to breathe in space.)