Every major 'Guardians of the Guardian' character ranked by how likely they are to die in the next movie

First seen in "Guardians of the Galaxy" as one of the Collector's prized possessions, Cosmo the Spacedog was part of a Soviet space program in the comics where she was lost in space.

Communicating through telepathy, Cosmo was briefly introduced as a member of the Guardians in the 2022 holiday special released on Disney+.

Honestly, we just don't see Marvel killing a dog.

We've already seen Groot sacrifice his life to save the Guardians in the first movie.

And while killing Groot would definitely elicit a roomful of tears, it would also feel like a cheap trick to kill him off again in a similar way.

He's also become too much of a money-making machine for Disney for the character to be killed off from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In 2022's holiday special, Mantis revealed she's Peter's sister. (They both share Ego, from "GotG Vol. 2," as a dad.)

According to the third installment's production notes, the Guardians will head out on a "dangerous mission" to save Rocket Raccoon, which could "possibly lead to the end" of the group.

If that's the case, we could definitely see Mantis sacrificing her own life to save Peter or her bestie, Drax, in that mission.

Director James Gunn said "Vol. 3" will be the final time we see the current roster of the Guardians of the Galaxy together. As the current leader of the Guardians, it would make sense for Peter to sacrifice himself to save his found family in any mission to save Rocket. 

We also know the leader of The Sovereign is still seeking revenge on the Guardians for stealing a valuable energy source from them in the last movie.

A new character, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) is likely a threat they'll face and we'd love to see the two square off.

Gunn told Entertainment Weekly that Chris Pratt, especially, was pushing himself a lot, describing filming as "heavy."

However, as we learned in "GotG Vol. 2," Peter's half-God so it should be tough to kill him. We've seen him hold an Infinity Stone and float out in space. Supposedly, he lost his God-like strength at the end of "Vol. 2," so Peter may be more susceptible to any attack, especially from a God-like creature like Warlock.

Gunn also said he planned on giving fans closure.

Perhaps Quill retires with some of the other Guardians.

Otherwise, we'd love to see him return to Earth and reunite with his grandfather, if he's still alive. Meredith Quill's father was supposed to raise Peter before Yondu kidnapped him at the start of the first film.

That would bring the trilogy full circle.

Kraglin became a member of the Guardians at the end of 2017's "GotG Vol. 2."

Taking over Yondu's Yaka arrow, a deadly flying weapon controlled by a whistle, he hasn't had a lot of time to prove himself as one of the group's newest members.

It's tough to see the director kill off his brother from the franchise. However, since Gunn is now in charge of DC, he may kill off Kraglin so it leaves room for Sean to play other roles in the DC universe.

Kraglin hasn't been seen in many shots of the trailers with the full group, so it's possible he may die early in the film.

Gamora already received one of the MCU's most gut-wrenching deaths in "Avengers: Infinity War" when her adopted father Thanos sacrificed her life to gain an Infinity Stone. 

Even though we're seeing a different version of the character in "Vol. 3," it would feel a bit stale to see a version of Gamora ripped from fans again.

However, we're bracing to shed a lot of tears in this third outing for the Guardians. 

Sure, this Gamora doesn't know Drax, Groot, Peter, Rocket, or Mantis at the start of this film, but, perhaps by its end, she'll start to understand why this ragtag bunch meant so much to her counterpart in "Infinity War" that she'll seize a moment to sacrifice herself for the group while facing off against Adam Warlock or trying to save Rocket from his captors.

In the first film, Gamora lamented she was about to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy. What if she ultimately dies surrounded by family and the people who love her most in the galaxy?

According to a new feature in The Hollywood Reporter, Zoe Saldaña said this will be her final outing as Gamora. In the same interview, it was noted that Gunn considered killing off Gamora in "Vol. 2."

Maybe now is her time to go.

Nebula started out as a true blue meanie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, attempting to kill Gamora and the group to appease Ronan and her adopted dad Thanos.

However, she's slowly grown on fans once they learned her backstory. Torn apart and put back together time and time again by Thanos, Nebula has become one of the MCU's most sympathetic characters, begrudgingly befriending Tony Stark during a dark time at the start of "Avengers: Endgame" as he neared his deathbed.

Gamora's death has appeared to bring Nebula and the rest of the Guardians closer. We could definitely see her sacrificing herself for Peter or the group at large to bring Rocket home.

After wrapping filming on the sequel, actor Karen Gillan shared on Instagram, "I don't know if Nebula will return beyond this, it's possible that this is her final chapter. And if that's the case, then I just want to say thank you to @jamesgunn for giving me such an interesting, complex and fascinating character to play."

Gillan's message appears to hint that Nebula may survive "Vol. 3" and simply retire.

But maybe her character dies and we could see her return as a variant of the character given the introduction of the MCU's vast multiverse.

Drax already lost his wife and daughter. If the Guardians were truly in danger, it would be easy to see Drax going out as a warrior, sacrificing himself for his new family to save Rocket in order to be at peace with the one he lost years ago.

We've been thinking Drax could go for a while. 

Bautista told GQ magazine in February that his role in "Vol. 3" will serve as his exit from the MCU, saying that while he loves the character, he has a sense of "relief" it's over, wanting to focus on more dramatic roles. 

Bautista was extremely vocal when Disney initially fired Gunn from Marvel in July 2018 after offensive tweets about rape and pedophilia resurfaced.

The actor went so far as to threaten to quit the franchise if Disney didn't use Gunn's script for the third film. 

We wouldn't be surprised if the actor joins Gunn in the DC Universe at some point in the future. Though he told Insider he'll never play Batman villain Bane, he hasn't seemed to rule out playing a version of Superman baddie Lex Luthor.

Ever since I watched the first trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, I've been worried about Rocket.

Gunn told Total Film in March that Rocket is the "secret protagonist" of the Guardians trilogy.

We're finally going to learn the origin of Rocket's "illegal genetic and cybernetic experiments" that were teased in the first film.

Because of the movie's focus on Rocket's origin story, fans have been concerned the Bradley Cooper-voiced character may not make it through the final installment alive.

Maybe they're a red herring, but the trailers make it seem like Rocket may die.

At one point, Gamora is seen running with a possibly unconscious Rocket back to the ship.

It seems like Rocket may get to confront the person who experimented on him. A face-off with this character could lead to his demise. 

Every other Guardian "died" in "Infinity War" except Rocket Raccoon, leaving him all alone. It seems fitting that his sacrifice to bring everyone back in "Avengers: Endgame" could eventually lead to him leaving the rest of the group.