Avengers endgame theories: IRON MAN AND BLACK WIDOW hold the record for the most shocking and emotional Marvel Cinematic Universe deaths to date, but not for long. Who knows what the future holds for the MCU with all the movies on the way. However, there will certainly be more departures like Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff.
You can find signs of the next big death in Avengers: Endgame. Marvel’s final movie by the Russo Brothers holds the key to one of the next major deaths in the MCU, and no one is prepared for it.
WHATEVER IT TAKES
Let’s start with Avengers: Endgame. The movie is about the surviving heroes from Infinity War doing “whatever it takes” to undo Thanos’ actions and bring back all the life he snapped out of existence. It also works, but not without tragedy.
In order to secure the Soul Stone, a sacrifice must be made — and Black Widow does it, giving her life for the rest of the world. In order to stop Thanos from doing it all over again, another sacrifice must be made — and Iron Man does it, giving his life for the rest of the world.
It’s powerful stuff, made all the more powerful by the fact that two old-school Avengers sacrifice themselves for the greater good. However, there were others on the time-heist crew who were ready to make similar sacrifices – including one especially surprising contender, given their sarcastic stories in the MCU to date.
THE LAST GUARDIAN
Rocket Raccoon and Nebula represent the Guardians of the Galaxy in Endgame. In the movie, the daughter of Thanos has the meatier arc. However, Rocket’s story moves forward due to how his personality contrasts with what we know from his history in the MCU to date.
Rocket still gives Thor the business, but the wise-cracking “Rabbit” shows Thor at certain points just how seriously he takes the conflict, reminding Thor that he has lost everyone he ever cared about thanks to Thanos.
Rocket and his friends are reunited at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but we don’t get enough time to see how much the resurrection of the Guardians means to him moving forward. Good news: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is just around the corner. Bad news: Rocket’s gonna die.
ROCKETS AWAY
Is Rocket Raccoon really going to die in the third Guardians movie, especially as all eyes are on Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer? Many reasons, but for our purposes, the following will suffice.
Rocket Raccoon is a genetically modified raccoon, but he’s still a raccoon, so what’s his lifespan? Not great. Five years of a real-time pass in Endgame, pushing Rocket closer to the end of his natural life. From that standpoint alone, Rocket may be poised for a Yoda-like departure, even if it’s not quite the same as passing away in a faraway swamp.
In his part, Guardians director James Gunn has previously spoken about his vision for his third and possibly final film in the series, telling Deadline in 2019: “When you asked me what was saddest for me when I thought it was gone-and anyone at Marvel can confirm it-it’s his strange and attached relationship with Rocket.”. Rocket is me, even if that sounds narcissistic.”.
Rocket relates to me, and I have compassion for him, but I also feel like his story hasn’t been told fully. He has an arc that started in the first movie, continued into the second, and continued through Infinity War and Endgame. I was going to wrap up that arc in Guardians 3. The fact that I wasn’t able to finish that story, though I was comforted by the fact that they still planned to use my script, was a big loss to me.
If you examine the character’s past, you will find a raccoon changed by Yondu’s sacrifice in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 not to mention the herculean effort he made to bring his friends back from the brink of extinction in Endgame. Combine it with Gunn’s own stated desire to bring Rocket’s arc to a close. Couple that with Gunn’s impending departure from the MCU, and then add to it how much Rocket aged over the course of Endgame.
Every single Guardians movie features a major character death, although the smart money is on Drax right now, but you’d be wise to prepare for losing Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon; he might be reuniting with Iron Man and Black Widow sooner than you think.