Director James Gunn has long teased there is one reference to the classic Marvel Comics hidden in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie that nobody has spotted yet. The guessing game must continue, however, as Gunn recently refuted one popular theory that the last Easter egg involved the origins of the cosmic entity known as Galactus.

An unashamed fan of comic books and horror movies growing up, Gunn first broke into Hollywood writing screenplays for Troma Entertainment. In 2004, he became the first screenwriter in history to have one film that they wrote unseated from the top-spot at the box-office by another film they wrote, with the Dawn of the Dead remake dethroned by Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Even before he started working for Marvel Studios, Gunn was famous for the in-jokes and Easter eggs that he would work into his films. Within the past year, as more and more obscure references were unearthed, Gunn teased on his social media there was still one big Easter egg nobody had found yet.

Gunn shot down the most popular recent theory in a post on his personal Twitter, which can be viewed below. The gist of the theory was that, during the scene in which The Collector is recounting the history of the Infinity Stones, a screaming bald man awash in purple light is seen as The Collector talks about the Power Stone. It was suggested this was a reference to Adventures of the X-Men #12, which had a similar shot during a retelling of the origins of Galactus.

Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee during their legendary run on Fantastic Four, Galactus is one of the most powerful and dangerous beings in all of Marvel Comics’ cosmology. Known as The Devourer of Worlds, Galactus was the last survivor of the previous universe and was reshaped by the Sentience Of The Universe for some purpose unknowable to mortal beings. Largely amoral, concerned only with satisfying his endless hunger, Galactus has threatened the Earth on more than one occasion. Thankfully, he has always either been repelled by the combined strength of Earth’s heroes or persuaded to leave peacefully.

While the original theory was a sound one, it would not have been possible from a legal standpoint. Given that Galactus was originally created as a Fantastic Four villain, the film rights to the character are currently held by Fox Studios. As such, Marvel Studios could have wound up in serious trouble for even hinting at Galactus’ existence, however indirectly or remotely - unless they got special permission from Fox. It was a good guess, but the hunt for the final Guardians of the Galaxy Easter egg must go on.

More: Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Every Easter Egg You Missed

Source: James Gunn

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