Bradley Cooper might be best known in the flesh for the likes of The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook, and A Star is Born, but to Marvel fans he’ll always be Rocket Raccoon; the cynical, Brooklyn-flavored vocal performance he brings to the part has transformed the troubled trash panda from a weird gamble for the studio into one of the MCU’s most beloved heroes. That’s why it’s surprising to hear that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will feature someone else playing the role.
Although at least it’s someone who thoroughly deserves the opportunity, and it’s not like they’ll be replacing Cooper full-time (that we know of). James Gunn’s reveal that Avengers: Endgame‘s Linda Cardellini is playing Lylla the Otter in Vol. 3 led fans to discuss other Marvel vets who have portrayed dual roles in the franchise. This then caused the director to drop the bombshell that his brother Sean Gunn will be voicing Young Rocket in the threequel.
As the fan Gunn replied to reminds us, Sean Gunn has been playing two Marvel roles before it was cool, as he’s doubled up as Kraglin and the on-set motion capture performer for Rocket ever since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Depending on your point of view, you could even claim the character is more his than Cooper’s. Regardless of how you feel about that, it’s only right that he should get the chance to lend his voice as well as his physical self to Rocket before his journey ends.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens on May 5.