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Guardians 3 is being marketed as the final outing involving the original team, and it is also said to have a sad ending with one or multiple character deaths. Since James Gunn has repeatedly talked about Rocket being the centerpiece of Vol. 3, fans have presumed that he might go down this time. But in a new Instagram exchange, Gunn's reply to a fan’s comment seems interesting.
Another fan suggested that Bradley Cooper’s character doesn’t really need to die in the film as he could simply be given a time-out by getting sent off-world. To this, Gunn replied,
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“No one said he was going to die but that's not how stories work.”
Gunn's comments still cannot be taken as confirmation of Rocket’s survival. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will take us through his origin story as he encounters his creator, the High Evolutionary, along with the rest of the team. But whether he makes a sacrifice play in James Gunn’s final MCU movie remains to be seen.
Why Rocket may not die in Guardians 3 after all
First, we have to consider Gunn’s aforementioned reply. But many fans would just consider that a “neither confirmed nor denied” situation. However, something similar happened before Avengers: Endgame came out as well.
Before Avengers: Endgame came out, it seemed highly likely that Captain America would die since he always makes the sacrifice play. Marvel seemed likely to only retire their biggest character, Tony Stark, so they could bring him back later.
But the opposite happened, as Tony sacrificed himself and Steve retired. Similarly, Guardians 3 could end up saving Rocket Raccoon, as his death is being teased in the entire marketing campaign, and it seems too predictable. So instead of him, someone else from the team could end up dying.
Disclaimer: The rumor could contain potential spoilers.
Why Drax could die in Guardians 3 instead of Rocket
Take it with a grain of salt, but the up-and-coming Twitter scooper Divinity Seeker revealed that Rocket will survive at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He’d end up leading the Guardians 2.0 squad, which includes Groot along with Adam Warlock and maybe a few others. The only one who dies is Drax.
Dave Bautista said on The Tonight Show that James Gunn has written a perfect ending for Drax, which he will not tarnish by returning for just another paycheck. He said:
“We all had those perfect character arcs and such a storybook ending. I constantly relate it to the way I ended my wrestling career. I ended it on a storybook note. And I would never go back and tarnish that. And it's the same with this. With Drax, I just got to end the perfect way. And I would never sign up for another job as Drax just to get a paycheck. I would tarnish that [perfect ending], and I won't do it.”
If we read into the lines here, it does seem likely that Drax the Destroyer is about to make a huge sacrifice in the upcoming film.
Guardians 3 will be released on May 5, 2023.
