Now that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is playing in theaters all across planet Earth, critics and viewers are beginning to peel back the layers of James Gunn’s intricate, visually resplendent sequel, discovering Easter eggs and a handful of delightful post-credits sequences as they go.
For those of you out there who have yet to catch Guardians 2, that means the Internet has essentially morphed into a minefield of spoiler-heavy discussions and extensive post-mortems on the Marvel sequel – all words that you don’t want to hear when you’ve been waiting for Star-Lord and the gang’s next adventure for the better part of three years – and the latest interview from Uproxx falls directly into that camp.
So heed this last-minute warning: the following interview with director James Gunn and Michael Rooker, who plays the tenacious Yondu, should only be viewed after you’ve seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Comprende? Let’s get to it.
When asked about Yondu’s ultimate sacrifice, James Gunn touched base on the character’s bittersweet arc and why his death helped inject a sense of gravitas into the Marvel sequel.
I didn’t want that to be the ending, and I kind of refused to put that in as the ending for a long time. It wasn’t how the movie ended. But, at the end of the day, I knew that’s where it needed to go. I knew that we need to have real stakes in these movies. We need to lose characters. And not everyone who sees Marvel movies loves that. They don’t love losing characters. But for the characters to really make a difference, to really make their lives mean something, you needs to have these kinds of losses.
The writer-director then stressed how Yondu can be seen as the real father figure to Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, despite the introduction of Ego, the Living Planet.
The whole movie led to that one moment. It seemed to be calling to me. And that’s what fulfills this true story. This is a story about a father’s love for his son, his ultimate love, so much love that he sacrifices himself for that, and that’s what Yondu is. He is 100 percent Peter Quill’s father. And Ego is 100 percent not his father. Just because Ego is biologically his father, that isn’t who he is.
Michael Rooker, meanwhile, aired his thoughts on the potential blowback from the hardcore community, particularly after his glowering anti-hero became something of a cult favorite after the 2014 original.
What are we going to do? You know? But it worked so well for this story in this movie. That’s what really worked. And, yeah, what are you going to do? And it’s for the good of the movie. The hero of the movie ends up being remembered. And the hero of the movie ends up being, well – you’re the hero of the movie! You know, they’ve done something! They’ve given up something that most of us would not even come close to having the balls to give up in real life, and in the movies as well.
On the heels of its North American bow, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is well on its way to reaching $500 million at the international box office. James Gunn, meanwhile, is already looking to the future and, specifically, composing Vol. 3, which may well be ready to light up theaters in 2020.