Originally published March 19, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
It seems that Marvel was caught a little by surprise with the fan reaction to Groot in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy (which explains why it took so long for those Dancing Baby Groot toys to hit the shelves), and speaking to Comic Book, director James Gunn has revealed that his breakout popularity has ensured he’ll be a “better-written character” in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
“The whole personality of Groot and who he was, it was there on the page and then you forget about it while you were shooting the first movie,” said Gunn. “But now everyone knows Groot so well that we have much larger awareness, me and the cast, of a Baby Groot being there at all times, and him being one of the members in the scene. I think he’s a better-written character than the first Groot in some ways. Not that he was poorly written at all, but I think he’s just [a] more complete character.”
“A lot of times on the first movie we were like, ‘Are we even putting Groot in this movie?’” he continued. “Because Sean [Gunn] plays Rocket on set, and he’s so present as Rocket that you’re very aware of Rocket as a character. The guy playing Groot was a stand-in on the last movie and so we just kind of always forgot he was there. He doesn’t talk very much, so you’re doing all these scenes and when we have the scenes in the movie where they turn to Groot and Groot’s like, ‘Why are you forgetting me?’ That’s really what we felt like while we were shooting the first film.”
SEE ALSO: Baby Groot graces Empire’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 subscriber cover
Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is scheduled for release on April 28th 2017 in the UK and on May 5th in the States, with director James Gunn reuniting with returning cast members Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Michael Rooker (Yondu), Glenn Close (Nova Prime) and Sean Gunn (Kraglin) alongside new additions Pom Klementieff (Oldboy) as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Ayesha, Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight) as Ego the Living Planet, Chris Sullivan (The Drop) as Taserface and Sylvester Stallone (Creed) and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.
