In new footage for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Chris Pratt appears to drop the MCU's first true F-bomb in franchise history.
While Ryan Reynolds regularly cursed his way through Deadpool and Deadpool 2, all of the MCU's near-F-bombs have been censored, cut off, or removed from the script entirely. In fact, recently, Marvel Studios included an F-word in an early script for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever said by Riri Williams before it was removed.
Notoriously, both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home had F-words cut off by credits, and Iron Man 2 had F-bombs bleeped out under the guise of it being presented as part of an in-universe C-SPAN broadcast.
Guardians franchise director, James Gunn, however, has used F-bombs in non-MCU projects like The Suicide Squad, helping add an extra layer of comedy to the given work.
Now, he seems to have brought the MCU its first utterance of the elusive swear with Guardians 3.
Star-Lord Drops the F-Bomb!
In a newly released clip from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, fans get a tease at the MCU's first official F-bomb thanks to Chris Pratt's Star-Lord.
The new clip shows the team trying to get into a small car, and while Peter Quill and Groot can get in just fine, Mantis, Drax and Nebula appear to be locked out.
Peter tries to instruct Nebula through the closed car window how to unlock that side, with both characters getting increasingly frustrated with the communication block between them.
At around 34 seconds into the clip, in a moment of frustration, Peter says "open the [CENSORED] door!" Despite the bleeping out of the curse word, Pratt's mouth is visibly saying the f-word, implying the censoring will not be present in the actual cut of the film.
While there is some bite to Peter's exclamation, the f-bomb does not appear to be said with malicious intent toward Nebula, seeming to be a comfortable, though admittedly anger-filled, way of communicating his frustration. Nebula does not appear phased by the word, either, implying no hard feelings about its use.
Though often associated with R-rated films, the f-word can be used occasionally in PG-13 movies, such as Guardians 3. In fact, the film's PG-13 rating, according to IMDb, is due to "intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements," with "strong language" being clear in this new footage.
The full clip can be seen below:
The First of Many F-Bombs in Marvel's Future?
While fans may first be inclined to channel their inner Steve Rogers and exclaim "language!" about this development, the new clip leaves open the possibility for more F-bombs in future MCU projects.
With Deadpool coming to the MCU soon with Deadpool 3, more F-bombs are all but guaranteed, but what about outside of the notoriously filthy-mouthed merc?
Maybe Nick Fury will finally be able to complete an F-word in Secret Invasion or The Marvels after seemingly never finishing his mid-Snap swear in Avengers: Infinity War.
Will Riri Williams possibly get back the F-bomb she lost from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in her upcoming show?
Either way, though this is the first F-word in the MCU, it will not be the last.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
