Yondu Udonta met his demise just outside the upper atmosphere of Ego the Living Planet at the climax of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
As Ego began to crumble with Peter Quill still on his surface, Yondu accepted his fate. Taking Rocket's last portable space suit and aero-rig to save his surrogate son, Yondu froze to death in outer space, sacrificing himself by giving the space suit to Quill.
A very poignant Ravager's funeral promptly ensued, with all of Yondu's old, estranged friends showing up to give him a proper send-off.
Michael Rooker, who portrayed Yondu in both of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, has expressed interest in a Yondu prequel, but what about bringing the character back from the dead?
NEWS
Guardians of the Galaxy writer and director James Gunn has responded to fans on Twitter who were addressing his initial tweet about the killing Yondu. You can view the exchange below:
Gunn explains that he gets a great many harsh messages for killing characters.
There are angry fans no matter what choice you make. I still get hate messages for Yondu dying in #GotGVol2 & Boltie in SUPER. Yet their deaths were integral to the stories (&, for the record, I get a lot MORE messages from folks saying how deeply those deaths affected them). https://t.co/QM9XOG9Q7J
He also leaves the door open for Yondu to potentially return in a flashback.
I get sometimes you can bring back characters in a cool way. But usually, if a character dies, & it's a meaningful part of the story, the character should stay dead. So unless it's a flashback, Yondu will stay dead, as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, it ruins his sacrifice. https://t.co/Z3enj0LEdM
Finally, Gunn responds to a fan with a powerful story by reiterating his promise that Yondu will stay dead.
And that’s exactly why, as long as I have the power, Yondu will stay dead. I don’t want to cheapen moments like these. 🙏❤️ https://t.co/OcWqhcb0Mx
WHAT THIS MEANS
It's understandable as to why James Gunn utterly refuses to resurrect Yondu despite the character's very popular, fan-favorite status. Bringing the character back erases his heroic sacrifice and effectively does "cheapen" it, as Gunn says.
Many fans also feel a desire to see Marvel Studios bring back Tony Stark after his heroic yet fatal Infinity Stone snap during the final battle of Avengers: Endgame. A ton of fans have theorized methods through which characters like Tony and Yondu could make a comeback.
It's very much in human nature; people miss things when they're gone. The best thing fans can do now is revisit these characters in their past film appearances.
Additionally, it is quite the harsh response on behalf of some fans to harass Gunn on the internet over writing Yondu's death into the film, especially over three years after the fact. But it's equally, if not more encouraging, that, according to Gunn, he receives heartfelt messages from people that explain what an impact Yondu's demise had on them.
Gunn is slated to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which does not currently have a release date attached despite reportedly not being delayed. The film is deep into the writing process, however.
