Marvel fans are going wild on Twitter after unearthing an interview with Guardians of the Galaxy creator James Gunn in which he teases the death of a character in the franchise's next installment.
Back in 2020, Gunn simply responded "yes" to a fan's question about whether the third Guardians movie would see any of its central characters biting the dust. In a more recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Gunn further fed the flames of speculation by saying, "We know that most of them are going to make it out alive. At least for the first two movies."
But the public focus has now turned to the idea that it might be Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, the leading man of the MCU series, who won't survive the third Guardians feature, which is due to hit theaters in May 2023. The buzz around Pratt's character hit a fever pitch on Twitter when discourse reignited around the actor's personal beliefs, which have long been a breeding ground for controversy and negative attention.
Pratt's rumored conservative-leaning political beliefs have previously earned him a fan dubbing as "the worst Chris" in comparison to fellow MCU stars Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth. The since-dormant debate around the star's personal life became current news again after the author Brigitte Gabriel included him in a list of figures who make up "Conservative Hollywood".
The Parks and Recreation actor has attracted criticism and "Conservative" labeling in the past for the anti-LGBTQ nature of his church and the much-touted but unfounded belief that he voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 United States Presidential Election.
In response to the resurfacing of Gunn's comments about a death in the next Guardians movie, one fan tweeted, "someone's late to the 'one's gotta go' game! the answer is still chris pratt". While another replied, "is it someone I care about or is it Chris Pratt?"
Yet another user suggested Pratt's character could be replaced in the franchise, writing, "and thus restarts my campaign to replace chris pratt with pedro pascal".
However, not everyone on the social media platform was riding the Pratt hate train. One user wrote, "Chris Pratt has never once said he's conservative he literally just goes to church". While another chimed in, "Chris Pratt is trending, and I'm not even going to look. I bet he didn't even say anything."
As one fan somewhat reluctantly noted, though, it is unlikely that Pratt's leading man of the Galaxy franchise will be the character to meet their demise in the upcoming third movie. And it's also unlikely that the recurring "canceling" of Pratt will have much effect on the actor's career or future within the MCU. As one fan put it, "The man is getting multi-million dollar movie deals. he is FAR from 'canceled.'"