Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 hid a secret Pete Davidson cameo in one scene

Many viewers had no idea it was the ‘SNL’ star

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 featured a secret cameo from actor and comedian Pete Davidson.

The Saturday Night Live star’s appearance flew under the radar of many viewers who watched the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe release.

Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 follow...

Davidson’s character appears towards the end of the film, during a sequence set on the High Evolutionary’s (Chukwudi Iwuji) gigantic space vessel.

As the Guardians release hoards of abused animals from their cages aboard the soon-to-be-destroyed spacecraft, Mantis (Pom Klementieff) frees a character credited as Phlektik.

A vaguely humanoid blob of unsightly mutated matter, Phlektik thanks his liberator as he makes his way off the spaceship, while Mantis tries to disguise her disgust.

Phlektik is voiced by Davidson and rendered entirely in CGI.

The comedian’s cameo perhaps comes as less of a surprise given the film’s director – James Gunn – who previously cast Davidson in a small but memorable role in his 2021 DC Comics adaptation The Suicide Squad.

Chris Pratt in ‘Guardians 3’ (Marvel Studios)

In the days since its release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 has drawn strong reactions from fans, with some questioning the film’s age rating over the inclusion of multiple “graphic” and “disturbing” scenes.

The Independent’s critic Clarisse Loughrey sang the praises of the film in a four-star review, arguing that it was the best MCU movie in years.

The release also broke an unusual cinematic record, as more than 600 different versions of the film were released in cinemas across the globe.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is out in cinemas now. It stars an ensemble cast which includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Dave Bautista and Sylvester Stallone.