Here’s a crazy theory that won’t turn out to be true but would be fun to talk about;
like that time I said David Tennant could be the 14th doctor, or that time I said Cap
should go back in time and live the rest of his life up to the present with Peggy, or
that time I said Deadpool should go on a roadtrip with Hugh Jackman to go from the Foxverse
to the MCU.
I digress.
We all think Rocket is going to die in Volume 3.
Maybe that’s a fake out… maybe that’s what they want us to think because it will
genuinely happen.
Logan didn’t try to hide the fact the eponymous hero was going to die, and it didn’t spoil
the movie whatsoever; if anything it made the anticipation so much stronger and more
heart wrenching, so I do think there is a strong chance this is the end for the crabby
puppy trash panda.
But what if Drax dies too?
How about Mantis?
Groot?
Star Lord… and Gamora?
Just don’t kill Kraglin.
Put down the Kraglin and no one gets hurt.
But seriously, I could totally see all of the Guardians going down together in one huge
final stand.
Not only that, but I think it would be more than just a cheap thrill - I think it would
be a really satisfying way to end their story, whilst also ensuring that it is indeed - the
end of the story.
The very first scene of the series establishes the finality of death in an otherwise magical
reality.
Part of the journey for Quill in Volume 1 is learning that no one’s ever truly gone.
With the death of Yondu in Volume 2, Gunn was able to conjure the most emotionally raw
ending in the whole franchise.
That worked so well because of its finality, and I could absolutely see him hitting the
same emotional resonance for whoever goes in Volume 3.
Even Groot, who is known for regenerating completely in the comics, is retconned to
instead produce a son when he’s destroyed.
Gunn has stated many times that the old Groot is dead; a wise decision, because it upholds
his final scene as appropriately tear jerking.
It’s a true sacrifice.
The only outlier to the whole trilogy is Gamora, who has of course come back as a variant following
her death.
But James Gunn didn’t have a direct hand in that, and it’s still not really the same
person, evident by the fact that she will be a Ravager in Part 3.
Overall, there’s an inherent thread running throughout the Guardians story, and I think
it could be both triumphant and bittersweet for them to die for each other.
In one of the first movie’s best scenes, they all agreed to die together, but no one
ever expects them to fulfil that promise.
I just think it would be so them, and so James Gunn, for this team to go out guns blazing,
literally, to not go gently into that good night, to perish in the most epic way possible
- together!
We are groot indeed.
The Guardians are the losers, the B-listers, the underdog team in the MCU.
No one ever expected them to go as far as they did.
So why should they get a run of the mill superhero ending?
As hard as I try, I just can’t picture Gamora and Pete walking off into the sunset together.
I can’t see Drax continuing on without Mantis.
I can’t see Groot continuing on without Rocket.
Sure, they could, but this team started together, and they should end together.
Imagine the blistering, tragic and unexpected ending of Rogue One, but you actually care
about the characters!
I mean, I guess people care about Andor now but that’s retroactive!
The two sweetest words in the English language!
Retro-active!
Behind the scenes it makes sense.
Gunn was once courted to take charge of the cosmic side of the MCU, but now he’s off
running things at DC.
Bautista said he wants to go more serious roles and honestly more power to him; Drax
was sidelined one too many times.
Saldana is done with franchises ruling her career, so we’ll see how back to back Avatar
sequels go instead of back to back Marvel sequels.
Bradley Cooper probably wants to make another decent but unsuccessful attempt to win an
Oscar.
Chris Pratt is the lead character so a spin off project with him would make about as much
sense as following up the X-Men trilogy with a Wolverine spin off.
Vin Diesel is too fast and too furious for more groot.
There’s been absolutely zero indication that any of these characters will appear in
the Kang Dynasty or Secret Wars.
They’ve not got as rich a history in the comics, particularly for variants and alternate
selves, so they wouldn’t get too much out of it.
People wanna see the Avengers meet the X-men meet the Fantastic Four.
If you’re a boxset man maybe you’d want to see them pop up in whatever the final battle
of Secret Wars is going to be, but I really don’t think it’s necessary.
In fact, I think the only character that is going to appear in any of that is Adam Warlock.
I don’t think the team should die because death is the only interesting endgame for
a character.
That was a weird comment to make some of you.
I’m sure there’s lots of satisfying endings you could conjure up for this entire team
that would serve them well.
I personally just think it would be neat, whilst also securing an ending that can’t
be as easily tarnished in the future.
Why did grumpy Harrison Ford and grumpy Daniel Craig say that they were done after Jedi and
Spectre only to return again?
Aside from the heaps of cash, it was to kill their respective characters off so that they
would be done for good.
The grumpiness is part of the charm by the way, don’t ever change.
Hollywood can’t let go of a character unless they’re shown being atomised on screen;
if you die off screen, guess what, you’re totally alive.
And you’re certainly ready to come back if you get one of those, ha!
Satisfying endings that bring about the closure of your arc.
Who needs those when you can just keep coming back?!
I think Gunn is aware of this and that’s why I could see him
The Guardians are better than the Avengers because they’re an actual family; their
stories wouldn't work as MCU solo movies, their strength is in their unity across their
trilogy and the Infinity war / Endgame double bill.
This series is so definitely James Gunn.
He basically got a free licence to make a space opera within the confines of an MCU
that was already doing its thing.
Sure, they crossed over with Avengers, but I don’t expect anything in this third film
to tie into the larger whole whatsoever, Warlock aside.
When he goes to DC I don’t want anybody to take them over.
I don’t need any solo projects, I don’t need cameo appearances, I don’t need future
teases.
Vol 3 is only coming out in phase 5 because of the delays, it was originally intended
as an Infinity Saga Epilogue to come out the same year as Black Widow.
Vol 3 missed its 2020 release date before it was cool…
In a lot of ways I think this movie will be the end of the old MCU; it will be tying off
the last key component of the first three phases.
Doctor Strange and Black Panther have a future with Kang but the Guardians do not, nor do
they need to.
I have no doubt that Volume 3 will be a contained, heartfelt and bittersweet ending for the team,
whether they die or not.
I’m happy to sit back, and see where it goes.
I don’t want any of them to die, so if anybody ends up going to the great beyond in Volume
3 I’ll be really sad.
What do you think?
Will any of the Guardians die in Vol 3?
Should they die?
Would you be up for the Guardians going full rogue one?
Let me know in the comments below…