While Yondu stole our hearts in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘ you shouldn’t expect his return to the land of the living according to director James Gunn. That isn’t to say there isn’t a chance that Michael Rooker would never reprise his role but if he did, his return would only likely be in a flashback or prequel form. This is a valid concern for fans of Marvel Studios as the first major on-screen death was Clark Gregg as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent Coulson who was later returned to life. The impact of his death was quickly negated when brought back for Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ and finding a way to have Yondu return would steal from us that poignant moment where he yelled “I’m Mary Poppins y’all” before teaching Peter Quill that he really had a father all along.
When talking about the importance of any character’s death on screen, Gunn stated that:
“What bothers me is when a character is given a beautiful or powerful death in popular culture, that fulfills a character arc… and then is brought back in a sequel or comic or later episode through some usually ridiculous means because, you know, he or she is popular. This has become so commonplace in TV, movies, and (especially) comics that any significant death, at least in franchises, loses its emotional impact. And, by extension, all death and danger lose their power in these stories.”
Very few comic book heroes have stayed dead over the years, and even Marvel is starting to loosen Death’s hand on a few fan-favorites in upcoming months where we’ll be seeing the return of the original Jean Gray and Logan.
He did make it fully clear though that a return of Yondu wasn’t out of the question; it just wouldn’t be in a future story as:
“Although it is always possible to see Yondu in flashback or prequel, I personally will never bring him back to life in present time because it would nullify his sacrifice and the love from father to son that affects me so much personally as well as others all around the world. One of the reasons that Yondu is the most popular character from the second film is BECAUSE of this sacrifice, and the idea of bringing him back in Vol. 3 or 4 or on the Yondu Netflix series because he sells a lot of Funko Pops horrifies and sickens me. Like I said, I hate it. And I’ll never do it.”
With that in mind, a Yondu Netflix series where he is leading the Ravagers while teaching Peter Quill a couple of life lessons along the way would be a ton of fun though I doubt that Rooker or Chris Pratt have time in their schedules even to consider going that route.
Before you go and think that Gunn is hypocritical having brought back Groot after his apparent death in the first film you have to realize that the director previously stated that the Baby Groot is a new Groot and has now repeated that statement by saying:
“Although I don’t necessarily think it’s obvious in Vol. 1, it’s important to say that if you exploded and a little glob of you started growing into a baby, I would not assume that baby was you. I do think it’s more obvious in Vol. 2, as Baby Groot has a different personality than Groot, none of his memories, and is much, much dumber”
While we can all appreciate the little dancing machine, Rocket’s best friend is no longer in the land of the living, and our new Groot will have a lot to learn going forward.
Are you glad that Gunn won’t be bringing Yondu back and feel that it would steal from his importance in the films or would you love to see Rooker go blue one more time? Share your thoughts below True Believer!
