Yondu Was Almost Killed Off in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
James Gunn brought Yondu (Michael Rooker) into the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and apparently he almost took him out! During a special Guardians Of The Galaxy Live Commentary/Q&A event that he held on his Facebook page, Gunn revealed that he had originally planned to to kill off Yondu, and he even filmed the scene showing the character's demise! Luckily, the writer/director decided at the last minute to cut Yondu's death out of the film. Here's what he had to say:
"In the original script (that I wrote) Rocket had a little bomb in this scene. At the end Quill put it in the Orb when he gave it to Yondu. And, as Yondu flew away at the very end, his whole ship exploded."
I would have been bummed out had they killed off Yondu in the movie. He was a great character, and I want to see more of him in the future. It doesn't really make sense to have him blown up. It's a good thing that Gunn saw the value of the character, and what he could bring to the future of the franchise.
Another bit of information that Gunn revealed during the interview was that Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser is not going to be included in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The actor recently said that he would love to reprise the role, but if it happens, it's not going to happen in the sequel. When asked if Lee could return, Gunn said, "perhaps someday," so he left the idea open for a future Guardians film. I know Ronan was kind of obliterated, but if it makes sense for the story, then I guess why not.
There's no official word on if Rooker will officially be back for the sequel, but Gunn left him alive for a reason. So fingers crossed that he'll be back and causing some trouble in the May 5th, 2017 release!