Avengers: Infinity War is going to be BIG. Pretty much the Stefon of Marvel movies, it’s going to have everything: all of the heroes we’ve met so far (minus, of course, the dead ones), and some villains old and new, all going after a shiny gauntlet with the power to control the universe. Because the movie has such a big cast, and because that cast hasn’t actually officially been announced yet, fans have theorized about any and all Marvel characters and what their roles could be in the movie. Even Michael Rooker’s Yondu was the subject of some healthy speculation.

[This post contains SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.]

A couple months ago, Michael Rooker posted a few photos on his Instagram account that made it look like he was hanging with the crew of Infinity War where they’re shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. In one of them, he’s even wearing an official Infinity War beanie:

If you’ve gotten this far, hopefully you’ve seen Guardians Vol. 2 by now, because here’s where the spoilers come in. The film’s most emotional scene has nothing to do with Star Lord finally meeting his actual dad Ego, but with Peter Quill finally figuring out that Yondu was really his true father figure for most of his young life. And right after that happens, Yondu sacrifices himself to save the Guardians, leading to an extremely tearjerker ending.

These photos sure made it look like Rooker was making an appearance in Infinity War, but James Gunn soon shot those down in a Facebook Live Q&A earlier this week.

Yondu is dead. I think it’s very important that in these movies, there are stakes within the films. I am not into this old school way of doing things, where you kill characters and you bring them back and then you kill them again and then you bring them back and their deaths mean nothing. Yondu is dead. It’s sad. There could be a prequel Yondu film or a flashback or something like that. Yondu could exist in the past, but he’s not going to come back to life, so long as I am involved with Marvel. It’s just not going to happen.

But then WHAT ABOUT THOSE INSTAGRAMS?? Gunn also has a sensible explanation for that:

Sneaky sneaky. So, Yondu is, really and truly, dead, and Gunn has a point. It is important to have stakes in these movies, and bringing a character back would feel great in the moment, but in the end it would cheapen the effect their death initially had. Maybe there is a Yondu flashback in Infinity War, but I doubt it. Yondu probably wouldn’t appreciate having his well-deserved rest interrupted.

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