Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's James Gunn recently responded to a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan who said they hoped to see Rocket (Bradley Cooper) die in the upcoming sequel.
The exchange came after Gunn, who wrote and directed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, shared a sketch of Rocket on Instagram. Gunn's intention was to praise Marvel Studios' marketing team, who transformed his rough drawing into a polished piece of promotional artwork, however, his post resulted in at least one call for Rocket's demise. The filmmaker replied to this anti-Rocket sentiment with an "eyes" emoji, presumably to express shock at the idea of anyone rooting for the death of such a fan-favorite character.
The final fate of Rocket and his fellow Guardians has been a source of intense speculation ever since the first Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer dropped in December 2022. The blockbuster's cast and crew remain tight-lipped regarding who will (and won't) make it out alive, although Peter Quill/Star-Lord actor Chris Pratt recently noted that death is rarely the end in the MCU. "[E]ven if I do die in this, there's a way to bring me back," he said. "So if you're talking about, like, practically can Peter Quill come back? The answer will always be yes."
James Gunn Talks GotG Vol.3's Runtime
Regardless of which characters live and die, Gunn is adamant that all of their journeys will be wrapped up satisfactorily. Indeed, Gunn recently tweeted that this was the reason why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 is so long. "I promise, not a second is wasted. There's no fat. It was necessary to experience the full arc for every major Guardians character, not only for this film, but for the trilogy (or, I should say, trilogy plus)," he wrote. Gunn also noted that while reports that the third Guardians of the Galaxy installment runs for 2 hours and 29 minutes are accurate, this could change closer to its release.
That certainly leaves plenty of room for the amount of character development teased by Gunn. It also tracks with recent remarks by Nebula actor Karen Gillan, who suggest that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will find time to explore her character's evolution following the death of her father, Thanos, in Avengers: Endgame. "[N]ow we're starting to see her character become a little bit of the person maybe she should have been had [Thanos' abusive parenting] not happened to her," Gillan said.
Guardians of the Galaxy arrives in cinemas on May 5, 2023.
Source: Instagram