Quill is initially depicted as a member of the mercenary group called the Ravagers who was abducted from Earth as a child by Yondu Udonta after his mother died.

Alternate versions of Quill from within the MCU multiverse appear in Avengers: Endgame (2019), portrayed by Pratt, and in the animated series What If...?

Unable to deal with it, he runs away and is abducted by the extraterrestrial spaceship of a mercenary gang called the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta.

While on a scavenging job, Quill finds himself embroiled in a significant power struggle and revenge war between two advanced galactic powers, the Kree warlord Ronan the Accuser and Xandar's Nova Corps, while also being hunted by Yondu after failing to bring him a stolen relic he found on Morag (later revealed to be an Infinity Stone).

Learning that Ronan plans to use the Power Stone to completely destroy Xandar, they travel there to stop him, with the help of Yondu and the Ravagers.

After learning that Rocket stole some of the Sovereign's batteries, which causes their war fleet to attack, they crash land on a planet, where Quill meets his father, Ego, a primordial Celestial who manifests a human avatar that allows him to interact with other races.

Four years later, Quill and the Guardians respond to a distress signal and end up rescuing Thor, who is floating in space amidst the wreckage of the Statesman.

Quill, Drax, and Mantis travel to Titan and meet Tony Stark, Peter Parker, and Stephen Strange, in a brief confrontation in which they realize they are on the same side.

In 2023, Quill is restored to life and is brought through a portal to the destroyed Avengers Compound in upstate New York, where he participates in the final battle against an alternate version of Thanos.

In 2025, Quill and the Guardians arrive in Indigarr to respond to a signal from a tribe of Indigarrians, which had been attacked by Habooksa the Horrible and his Booskan army.

Quill cheers on Thor as the latter joins the fight, easily besting the Booskan army but destroying the Indigarrians's sacred temple in the process.

On their ship, they learn of a god butcher and see Sif's distress call, leading Thor to decide to leave them to respond to it, with Quill giving him words of advice before they part ways.

Quill is put to sleep by Nebula, but shortly after, Adam, a superpowered being created out of revenge by his "mother" and the empress of the Sovereign, Ayesha, arrives and attacks them.

Quill springs into action after Rocket gets seriously injured, leaving the Guardians unable to tend to his wounds due to a kill switch embedded in him.

Quill and the team resolve to travel to the Orgoscope, headquarters of the High Evolutionary's company Orgocorp, in the hopes of finding an override code.

[5] Star-Lord continued to appear in Marvel Preview, with writer Chris Claremont revamping the character and using science fiction adventure stories like the Heinlein juveniles for inspiration.

"[12] Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly, saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[13] Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014.

[19][20] About the character, Pratt said, "He had a hard time as a kid, and now he goes around space, making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a bit of a jerk, and through teaming up with these guys, finds a higher purpose for himself.

[15] Pratt, who was mostly known for playing supporting characters, including Andy Dwyer on the television series Parks and Recreation, initially turned down the role.

[22] Prior to filming, Pratt underwent a strict diet and training regimen to lose 60 pounds (27 kg) in six months.

[23] Pratt signed a multi-film contract with Marvel,[19] and was granted a temporary leave from his work on Parks and Recreation to accommodate his participation in the film.

[30] In a 2014 review for the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Scott Foundas of Variety said, "James Gunn's presumptive franchise-starter is overlong, overstuffed, and sometimes too eager to please, but the cheeky comic tone keeps things buoyant—as does Chris Pratt's winning performance".