Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn confirms Yondu WON’T return

James Gunn has confirmed that he will not be bringing Yondu back to life in the third Guardians Of The Galaxy film.

The director, 54, revealed to fans via Twitter on Thursday that he did not want the character to come back from the dead like other Marvel characters because his ‘death means something to people’.

Yondu, played by Michael Rooker, died in the second Guardians of the Galaxy film while saving Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) during an act of heroism.

Despite the fact Marvel characters like Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) have both managed to come back unscathed after appearing to be dead, it seems Yondu will have no such luck.

Answering fan questions, James confirmed: ‘As I’ve said before, Yondu is dead & will stay dead as long as I’m involved with the Guardians. His death means something to people & I’m not about to diminish that.’

James also discussed fan-favourite character Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), saying the current iteration of the character was not the same as the one that appeared in the first Guardians Of The Galaxy film.

Referring to how Groot sacrificed himself in the first film, James wrote: ‘Yes, OG Groot is also dead & will stay dead, sorry. The current Groot is his spawn.’

James was also asked if the new iteration of Groot was a ‘son’ or ‘clone’ or ‘brother’, but rather than give a clear answer the director said: ‘He’s one of those.’

He was then asked if Groot had kept all his memories from the past, and James simply said: ‘No. I always wonder why this isn’t obvious. 

‘Original Groot would know what a death button was. He wouldn’t sleep on Drax’s shoulder. He wouldn’t cry when Rocket was being attacked by Ravagers.’

Last month, Guardians of the Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista were seen filming in Sydney for Thor: Love And Thunder.

Hemsworth portrays Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), while Pratt is reprising his role as Peter Quill or Star-Lord, previously seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers films. 

Other actors were seen wandering around the set including Sean Gunn dressed in a purple spacesuit, returning to his Guardians of the Galaxy role of Kraglin Obfonteri. 

In the forthcoming Thor instalment, Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster, and will also pick up the hammer and become the Goddess of Thunder.   

Waititi has explained that the new film will be based on an existing comic book storyline where Portman’s character of Dr Jane Foster takes up the powers and hammer of Thor after he is stripped of his abilities.

Natalie was absent for 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, but was a key player in the first two Thor films in 2011 and 2013.