James Gunn explains why the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 ending mattered (and why he didn't like it originally)

First thing's first: in case you couldn't tell by the headline, we're going to be venturing into major spoilers territory here. Okay? Stop reading right now if you don't want to know the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 ending. The rest of you, soldier on.

GotG 2's ending was bittersweet - our heroes saved the day, but at the expense of one of the most important people in Star-Lord's life. Proving himself to be a better father than Star-Lord's biological dad, Yondu sacrificed himself to save his adopted (okay, technically kidnapped) son. It's a real tearjerker moment for a movie full of sex and poop jokes, and it turns out director James Gunn originally didn't like it.

"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," Gunn recently told Uproxx. "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."

Gunn said that even though Marvel fans may not like it, audiences "need to lose characters" every now and then. He argued that it helps give their lives meaning and shows how they make a difference.

"That’s what fulfills this true story," Gunn said. "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."

Well, we're glad to see Gunn agrees with us that Marvel needs to kill off some heroes. Hopefully a certain Ravager leader can pick up Yondu's work in the meantime.