James Gunn Explains His ‘Worry’ About Character Deaths In Guardians Of The Galaxy

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating pop culture for a decade, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Given these years on the big screen, audiences have seen a variety of characters be killed off. This includes multiple Guardians of the Galaxy icons, although director James Gunn recently explained why he's sometimes worried about those specific plot points.

The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is largely about childhood trauma, with their shared dark history uniting the motley crew of heroes. There have also been a number of character deaths, most notably Yondu's sacrifice in Guardians 2. James Gunn recently fielded a number of questions on social media, where one fan asked how he felt about the possibility of the studio utilizing his characters, possibly those that have died. As the filmmaker put it,

Well, there you have it. James Gunn has spoken about the death of Yondu a number of times since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 arrived in theaters in 2017. And while anything is possible in the MCU, Gunn is really hoping that Michael Rooker's MCU character and any other dead names stay that way. Namely, because it'll otherwise cheapen the stakes of the franchise.

James Gunn's comments come from his personal Twitter page, as The Suicide Squad filmmaker took an informal Q&A with his nearly 800k followers. Gunn is very generous on social media, peeling back the curtain on what it's like working on such massive comic book movies. This time he shared his worries about the future of the Guardians characters, especially those who have died on screen.

The Guardians of the Galaxy's tenure in the MCU is currently available on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Comic books, as well as comic book movies, operate on a different set of rules. Throughout the MCU we've seen the faux-death of Loki (twice), while dead characters like The Ancient One, Frigga, and Peggy Carter all returned during Avengers: Endgame's Time Heist. And then there's the death and "resurrection" of Gamora.

The version of Zoe Saldana's Gamora that we knew and loved died in Avengers: Infinity War, with Thanos sacrificing his daughter to procure the Soul Stone. The green gal was brought back when the 2014 version of her was brought to the present alongside the Mad Titan and his forces. Her current location is unknown, as she departed after fighting with the good guys.

It should be interesting to see what James Gunn has in store for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, especially where Gamora is concerned. Finding her will presumably be a priority for the team, especially Star-Lord and Nebula. Gunn has shared what an emotional experience it was writing the threequel, so we'll just have to wait and see if another tragic death scene occurs.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently expected to hit theaters sometime in 2023. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.