Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 writer/director James Gunn has responded to sentiments commenting on Rocket Raccoon's possible death in the upcoming threequel.
Thanks to the sad tone and heavy focus on Rocket's origin story, many fans have started to worry that the hero might die in the franchise's next installment.
The cast has been very vocal about how emotional the whole script is. The director even stated how the movie tells "a heavier story," one that's "an emotional process to go through."
Gunn recently admitted that he viewed Rocket as "the secret protagonist" of all the Guardians films rather than Chris Pratt's Star-Lord. In the same interview, he even specifically noted that he "needed to finish Rocket's story."
The odds certainly don't sound good for the gun-toting, talking mammal.
Will Rocket Raccoon Die In Guardians of the Galaxy 3?
In a new Instagram exchange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director/ writer James Gunn responded to a couple of comments regarding the possible death of Rocket Raccoon.
A questionably sour user commented on one of Gunn's most recent posts that they "hope Rocket dies" in the upcoming MCU project.
In response, the filmmaker responded with a wide-eyed emoji. This could be read in multiple ways: a cheeky way for Gunn to tease Rocket's fate, or dismay at this random person's intense hatred of the trash panda.
When a fan stated how the character didn't need to die and just simply needed to be "[sent] off world for a bit," James Gunn promptly responded, "that's not how stories work.
It makes plenty of sense for many to worry that Bradley Cooper's MCU staple hero will bite the dust.
As mentioned above, the movie's marketing is centered on Rocket, and every trailer has a somber finality. The story is also confirmed to focus on the character's origin story and confronting the man who made him.
It's easy to see how such a personal story might not end well for the talking Raccoon.
Theorizing Rocket's Fate in Guardians Vol. 3
It does seem like Rocket's death is a pretty obvious choice. Because of that, Gunn might have avoided making the heartbreaking decision to off everyone's favorite Raccoon.
That's certainly not to say no one will die. However, based on how the actors have spoken about the film's heavy emotion and conclusive elements, it seems pretty evident somebody won't be making it out of Vol. 3.
For maximum impact, one would have to assume it'd be one of the leading team members. Groot was already killed once in the first installment, and the original Variant of Gamora was offed in Avengers: Infinity War.
With that in mind, the most likely candidates are Star-Lord and Drax.
Out of the two, based on real-life circumstances, Drax is the most likely to bite the dust. The actor behind the character, Dave Bautista, previously vocalized about how he's ready to be done with the role.
The actor spoke about how it's "just a nightmare" to put all of Drax's makeup on and how he "[doesn't] know if [he] want[s] Drax to be [his] legacy." That's not to mention how he's been brutally honest about his upcoming Marvel retirement, noting that Vol. 3 was "the perfect exit."
So, if Rocket survives, what might he get up to going forward?
Well, seeing as this movie is confirmed to be the final adventure for this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, maybe Rocket will go ahead and form the next generation of cosmic heroes.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5.
