James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, has addressed a long-running theory about how his characters connect to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe; specifically Captain America, whom he says can't be the grandfather of Star-Lord.Fans began speculating about the connection when the same actor, Laura Haddock, played seemingly unrelated roles in two different MCU films. She's best known as Meredith Quill, Peter Quill's beloved mother who dies of cancer the day he's taken from Earth in Guardians of the Galaxy. However, she also appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger as a fan who receives an autograph from Steve Rogers. Since The First Avenger is set a generation before the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy, she can't be the same character, but she could be playing her own mother. That means that Meredith's father could be Rogers himself.Gunn himself once playfully suggested the Captain America character is Quill's grandma, but when fans took the theory a step farther, he was quick to point out its fatal flaw: Quill's grandfather is already a character in Guardians of the Galaxy, and he's played by Gregg Henry, not by Chris Evans.
"Sorry to bust this fun theory," Gunn wrote on his Twitter, responding to an article on CinemaBlend that summarized the theory, "but it doesn't work as Meredith Quill's father is a major character played by @GreggHenry88 in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and appears briefly in Vol 2."
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Henry's unnamed character tends to Meredith at her deathbed and is stated to be the young Peter Quill's grandfather. The only possible relation is for him to be Meredith's father, since we learned in Vol. 2 that Peter's biological father is the evil living planet Ego. That said, there's no paternal grandfather in the picture.
It was already unlikely that the stalwart, faithful Steve Rogers would have a fling with one of his admirers, but Gunn's point seems to nail the coffin shut on the theory. However, anyone disappointed by this information can take solace in the hope that Quill will eventually mention his grandmother met Captain America in person.