There’s no doubt that the Guardians of the Galaxy cast features many of the best MCU characters, and they don’t come much better than the beloved Rocket Raccoon. The warrior spirit of this particular trash panda has endeared him to fans of the MCU movies ever since his debut nearly a decade ago.
Across three of the best James Gunn movies and his other Marvel movie appearances, Rocket has become a hugely beloved MCU character. As we explained in our Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 review, he’s very much the emotional core of the new movie in the MCU.
But Gunn himself wasn’t completely sure that Rocket would fly as an on-screen presence when he first became involved with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as he explained in a new interview with Gizmodo.
“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, was 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 Volume 1, it was the first thing I came up with.”
It certainly turned out for the best in the end, with our love for Rocket right at the heart of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. If you’re curious about the critter’s fate, find out if Rocket dies in the new movie and take a look at new villain High Evolutionary, as well at what Batch 89 is all about.
If that’s not enough, you can find out which Guardians of the Galaxy 3 star has a secret double role and why we think High Evolutionary is the most hateable Marvel villain.
We’ve also got guides to the best movies coming in Marvel’s Phase 5, including The Marvels release date, the MCU Blade release date, and the Captain America 4 release date.