A sub-reference that would have been simply....amazing.
Ok, now hear me out.
Sub-references....pop culture references....have been a huge hit in movies (most recently and notably in Ready Player One). And they're popular because everyone LOVES nostalgia. Wouldn't it have been amazing if....during one of the space scenes, perhaps a scene with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew.....if they crossed paths with........the crew of the USS ENTERPRISE! Sure, it would have been pricey to get the rights to reference the Star Trek franchise. But if Spielberg could pull off the rights and releases for over 100 different pop culture references, surely the producers of this movie (which is bound to make over $1 billion) could have made a miracle happen. Could you imagine....having the crew of the Guardians of the Galaxy....get hailed by the Enterprise.....and upon answering the communication, we see Mr. William Shatner....(slightly younged-up with the help of CGI), at the helm of the Enterprise, saying they had received a distress signal in the area. Granted, most of the original crew of Star Trek is dead by now. But James T. Kirk isn't! They could have had Kirk...with Uhura...and perhaps a CGI Spock, etc. The scene could have just been 1-minute long, focusing mostly on Kirk.....but that reference, would have brought....the....house....down! Bar none, it would have been one of the most epic pop culture sub-references....ever! Just seeing Shatner in his Captain Kirk outfit....one last time, for fun, would have been amazing.