Guardians of the Galaxy 3: Here’s Why Rocket’s the Most Likely to Die

Somebody is dying in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. We know that as fact because Guardians filmmaker James Gunn said as much in an Instagram Q&A with fans Saturday afternoon. But who’s going to be the unlucky character to kick the bucket? Star-Lord? Probably not. Gamora 2.0? Nah, not likely. Some background and side characters? More than likely. Rocket Raccoon? Absolutely.

Listen, before we get too far — we don’t want to see Rocket Raccoon die. Rocket’s undoubtedly a fan-favorite character, especially when it comes to the list of this certain writer, in particular. But come one, let’s face it — it makes the most sense for the character, at least at this point in his story arc.

So far we’ve seen both Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) get relatively complete story arcs between the two Guardians features and the most recent Avengers outings. When it comes to Rocket, however, he’s the one character in the group with the most dangling plot threads. If Vol. 3 is dedicated to Rocket and tying up those loose ends, it probably doesn’t mean the best ending for the character, all things considered.

But why? There’s a particular quote from last summer that all but confirms the massive moment. After the filmmaker was rehired for the movie, he spoke with Deadline and there, he revealed the thing that hurt most when he was first let go was the fact he wouldn’t be able to properly close out Rocket’s story arc.

“When you asked me what was saddest for me when I thought it was gone—and anybody at Marvel can tell you—it’s this very strange and attached relationship to Rocket,” Gunn said at the time. “Rocket is me, he really is, even if that sounds narcissistic. Groot is like my dog. I love Groot in a completely different way. I relate to Rocket and I feel compassion for Rocket, but I also feel like his story has not been completed. He has an arc that started in the first movie, continued into the second and goes through Infinity War and Endgame, and then I was set to really finish that arc in Guardians 3. That was a big loss to me—not being able to finish that story—though I was comforted by the fact that they were still planning to use my script.”

All signs pointed towards Rocket being the character to go the way it was and with the sentiment above, it would seem it’s all but guaranteed by this point. Then there’s the fact Gunn says Vol. 3 will serve as the finale to this iteration of the Guardians; as of now, he doesn’t plan on doing of fourth Guardians movie.

Rest in peace, our dearest Rocket.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has yet to set a release date.

Who do you think will end up dying in Guardians 3? Think it over and let us know your thoughts in the comments section or you can hit me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!