IS DISNEYLAND'S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY RIDE HINTING AT BETA RAY BILL & PRINCE NAMOR IN THE MCU'S FUTURE?
There are a ton of cool items on display at the new Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout attraction at Disneyland Resort's California Adventure park (you can read
my full reaction to the new attraction), and it's hard not to wonder if some could potentially hint at the Marvel Cinematic Universe's future - including a big nod to Thor character Beta Ray Bill.
As you queue up, the pretense of the ride is that you are inside the collection of Taneleer Tivan (Benicio Del Toro - one of many actors from the Guardians movies reprising his role here) and many familiar elements from MCU films and TV series are present, such as an Ultron drone (Avengers: Age of Ultron), a Nova Corps uniform (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Terrigen crystals (Agents of SHIELD). However, we'd also been told by Disney and Marvel representatives that we should look for items from Marvel comics that have not been seen in the MCU -- at least not yet -- with the idea that
some of these inclusions could hint at what's to come in future films and TV series, while others are simply fun nods to the comics.
One that stood out in a big way? Beta Ray Bill's hammer. No, it's not specifically given the name Stormbreaker in its display case, but the so-called "Asgardian War Hammer" is clearly the same hammer Bill -- the alien who proved to be worthy of lifting Thor's hammer Mjolnir in the comics, and was rewarded with his own hammer by Odin as a result -- has wielded.
Reads the description for the hammer: "Originated in the dwarves forge on Nidavellir, this finely crafted object is made of the powerful stone, Uru." The description essentially confirms the hammer is Stormbreaker, as it matches the origin of Beta Ray Bill's hammer in the comics.
Also standing out are items simply called "Mysterious Artifacts," with the description reading, "These mysterious artifacts were found at the bottom of the Terran ocean. Very little is known of the civilization the created them."
While it's not the only explanation, one possible Marvel source that leaps to mind is the Marvel version of Atlantis - which is most notably the home of Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Of course, if it's not Namor/Atlantis, it begs the question what exactly these artifacts
are meant to evoke.