James Gunn Drops Some ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Spoilers

With Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 currently in theaters and continuing to mint impressive coin for Marvel Studios – the film earned an estimated $63 million in its second weekend domestically and has earned thus far massive $246 million ($630 million worldwide) – director James Gunn participated in Facebook Live Q&A on Sunday afternoon to spill some beans.

The hour-plus conversation dug into the future of the Guardians franchise – Gunn has directed both entries to date so far – as well as shed a bit of light on what directions the over-arching Marvel Cinematic Universe may traverse in the future. Notably, the filmmaker dug deeply into Guardians characters (for which he has clear affection for), talked spoilers and explained his personal dilemma that weighed on him before signing on to direct the third installment.

WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW (If you have not yet seen Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, you may want to stop here).

Before it was confirmed last month, Gunn deliberated over whether or not he would direct Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3. As he explained, the reasoning behind that deliberation was because he couldn’t imagine not making another installment without veteran character actor and frequent Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker. Rooker famously portrays Yondu, the band and “surrogate father” of Chris Pratt‘s Peter Quill, who met a moving demise in Vol. 2. Said Gunn,

“It was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make from a storytelling perspective to have Yondu die. I wrote a bunch of treatment’s where Yondu did not die. There were other endings. He was saved at the last minute after taking the sacrificial stance … and I realized I was being dishonest. That was not what this story was.” Gunn’s statement also serve as confirmation that Yondu will not return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though deaths in the franchise (as they are often in the comics in which they adapted) often loosely defined.  Rooker has also participated in previous Gunn features like Slither and Super (the actor also appeared in this year’s The Belko Experiment, which Gunn wrote and produced).

Another worthy mention from Gunn’s Q&A highlighted a end-credits sequence which seemed to posit a MCU introduction for the character of Adam Warlock. The director insisted, however, that Adam will not be a focal point for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, commenting, “Adam Warlock will not be in Infinity War … he will have a future in the MCU. But will it be in Infinity War? It will not.” Of which perhaps gives a nod that Vol. 3 may embark on the fan favorite’s origins.

The wide-ranging conversation included behind-the-scenes trivia, nuanced takes on the characters, as well as an acknowledgement of an error in the mandated Stan Lee cameo. Take a look at the full Facebook Live conversation below.