Heading into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we expected at least a couple of the heroes to die. There had been plenty of hints that might be the case, with the threequel's trailers strongly hinting that both Rocket and Drax were at risk.
Ultimately, everyone survived and we, thankfully, got a happy ending.
Talking to The New York Times, filmmaker James Gunn revealed whether he was ever tempted to bid a more definitive farewell to any of the Guardians. "Gamora was going to die originally in 'Vol. 2' [2017]," he recalls, "and then we talked about it happening in 'Infinity War' and that worked better for the story."
"But the rest of them, I always knew where they were going. I knew that the whole trilogy is about Rocket, who we think of as a supporting character, becoming the captain of the Guardians.
"The arc with Peter Quill, in some ways, you can look at as that of many people who have experienced childhood trauma. He was by his mother’s bedside when she died, and he ran away and went into outer space - which, for other people, could be shutting off from the world - and stayed there for a long time until he came to the realization as an adult that he needed to go back to Earth. That, for me, was always his journey."
"Nebula becomes a leader, but a different sort of leader from where she was. Mantis goes off on her own and takes care of herself because she lived by others’ rules her entire life," Gunn continues. "Drax realizes that he’s a father and that’s what he’s really good at - he’s not a destroyer. All those things, some more clearly than others, were in my mind from the first movie."
In Vol. 3's mid-credits scene, a new team of heroes led by Rocket Raccoon assembles. A second stinger, meanwhile, teases the eventual return of the Legendary Star-Lord.
Asked if he ended the stories of any of these characters knowing that the actors playing them will or won't eventually return, Gunn explained: "Yeah, a little bit. Both Zoe and Dave have been very clear they’re not going to continue - likewise, me, actually."
"Chris is open to doing more stuff, although I think he has to be convinced. It does change some things: Like, I wouldn’t have had Dave in the post-credits scene. But I’m not sure if much would have changed beyond that."
While Gunn's time working on the franchise is over, we're sure many of these actors will be part of the MCU moving forward and even those who have said they're done...well, if enough money is on the table, we have to believe they'll at least consider reprising their respective roles.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.