Following the premiere of the MCU special on Disney+, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special director James Gunn finally answered a longstanding question about the fate of Benicio Del Toro's The Collector after Avengers: Infinity War.
Taneleer Tivan a.k.a. The Collector was heavily involved in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, with him serving as the buyer of the Orb (a.k.a. the Power Stone) that the team was first trying to retrieve. In fact, the character was the one responsible for giving the Guardians - and in turn the audience - a history lesson about the Infinity Stones.
Fast forward to Avengers: Infinity War, the Collector returned when Thanos ambushed Knowhere to obtain the Reality Stone. However, the Avengers threequel didn't confirm if the Mad Titan killed Tivan or not.
Now, Gunn has shed some light on the subject.
James Gunn Confirms The Collector's Fate
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special director James Gunn talked about the project's impact on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
While explaining that the Holiday Special has a "lot of mythology" that is going to be important in Vol. 3. Gunn subtly confirmed that the Collector is still alive after Infinity War, saying that the Guardians "bought Knowhere" from him to serve as their base:
“I also think it was kind of necessary because, you know, I’m actually working in a lot of mythology that’s going to be important in Vol. 3. The fact that we had Cosmo the dog, the fact that they have this amazing spaceship called the Bowie that’s four stories tall in real life... They’ve bought Knowhere from The Collector, that’s their home base now -- all of those things are important to Vol. 3.”
Gunn also mentioned that the Guardians have a new ship called the Bowie (which may or may not be a reference to rock icon David Bowie) and Cosmo the dog's addition to the team.
Where is the Collector in MCU's Phase 4?
It seems that the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Collector have settled their differences by the time of the Holiday Special.
It is unknown why the Collector decides to sell Knowhere to the team, but it's possible that is his way of saying thanks after the Guardians saved the universe from Thanos.
In addition, it's possible that he no longer embraces the art of collecting, so he decides to retire by using the credits from Peter Quill and his comrades.
The Collector's retirement isn't really surprising, considering that Thanos' snap changed the universe forever. Taneeler Tivan wouldn't be the first character to consider a change of plans since Nebula actress Karen Gillan previously shared that she is "interested to maybe try and take [Nebula] to a place now where she's starting to rebuild her life" now that Thanos is gone.
As for where Tivan is, the character may have regrouped with his fellow Elders of the Universe, waiting for the next move or universal threat.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is now streaming on Disney+.
