Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t too afraid to shy away from spin-off titles following our intergalactic heroes. And apparently, there was going to be a third spin-off title before the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, starring Rocket Racoon and Groot.
In an interview with i09, Guardians‘ director, James Gunn revealed that he once had plans for a show that featured only Rocket Raccoon and his sentient plant friend, Groot. Gunn also mentioned that this Groot and Rocket story could have become the main plot for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. but was changed to the plot we know today.
“I always thought it was a third movie thing because I thought we had to tell Peter Quill’s story first and then get into Rocket’s story. I think the only question was, was it going to be a Rocket and Groot movie or was it going to be Guardians 2—because initially, I was going to do it as Rocket and Groot.”
It was revealed that Gunn has always planned to work on a film about Rocket Raccoon’s backstory and that he knew what it was before shooting the first Guardians of the Galaxy installment. The director had plans and ideas in mind when he was offered to work on this superhero project, claiming that Rocket could have been the “Bugs Bunny” of the MCU. But the more he delved into Rocket’s story, ideas to explore the other Guardians’ past came to mind.
“They actually had some art already done with Rocket in it. And I thought, ‘Boy, this can be goofy. This could be like Bugs Bunny in the middle of The Avengers.’ I’m like, ‘How can I not make it goofy?’
“And I thought about, ‘Well, okay, if there was a talking space raccoon, how would he have come to exist?’ And as I mused upon it, I started thinking about how this was the saddest creature in the universe, and that was actually the seed to me for the entire Guardians trilogy. That was my way into it, this underpinning of just isolation and sadness, and all of these characters are isolated and sad. So I knew what Rocket’s backstory was from that moment before I had come up with the rest of that stuff for Vol. 1. It was the first thing I came up with.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is said to be the final installment of this superhero film franchise. Leading up to Vol. 3‘s release, Gunn revealed that the third installment would focus on this sentient talking raccoon and believed that Rocket was a “secret protagonist” in this superhero film franchise. The director also warned fans of an emotional movie-watching experience, considering that Vol. 3 is the swan song for this superhero film franchise.
If you’re keen to know more about Rocket Raccoon, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be released in theaters on May 5, 2023.
